Yahoo Finance Aston Martin’s losses almost double amid plunging SUV sales
Shares in Aston Martin plunged by as much as 14pc on Wednesday after the struggling luxury carmaker revealed losses almost doubled in the first three months of the year.
The company said it had sunk £139m into the red during the opening quarter, as losses rose almost 90pc compared to £74m a year ago.
This stemmed from a 10pc fall in overall sales to £268m, fuelled by a 63pc drop in the number of SUVs sold to dealerships.
The sluggish performance comes after Lawrence Stroll, the carmaker’s billionaire executive chairman, hit out at the Government’s net zero ban on petrol cars.
In comments made last month, Mr Stroll warned that attempts to force the sale of more electric cars were a mistake as regulations were moving faster than consumer demand.
Following his company’s latest trading update, he said the figures reflected “an expected period of transition” as the company halts production of old models in preparation for a refreshed lineup this year.
Aston has already delayed the launch of its first EV to at least 2026 and says it is looking at introducing more plug-ins first as a “bridge”.
This year the company is preparing to ramp up production of its new Vantage, its upgraded DBX SUV and an upcoming sports car featuring a V12 engine, as well as a fourth “special” slated for the fourth quarter.
It will mean the car maker will have an entirely fresh lineup on sale by the end of the year.
Mr Stroll has made this a lynchpin of his turnaround strategy, arguing that the carmaker must switch its strategy from selling cars wholesale back to a made-to-order model to become profitable again.
However, the quarterly loss unveiled on Wednesday was significantly larger than the £93m pencilled in by analysts, spooking investors.
In early trading, shares in Aston fell as much as 13.7pc to 128p before recovering slightly to around 137.6p – still down by 7pc.
In a statement, Mr Stroll said: “2024 is a year of immense product transformation at Aston Martin, with the introduction of four new models to the market before the end of the year.
“Our first quarter performance reflects this expected period of transition, as we ceased production and delivery of our outgoing core models ahead of the ramp-up in production of the new Vantage, upgraded DBX707 and our upcoming V12 flagship sports car which we’ve confirmed today.
“As part of our ongoing programme of ultra-exclusive models, we will deliver a new special in the fourth quarter of the year.”
It comes after the company completed a major refinancing in March and appointed Adrian Hallmark, the former boss of Bentley, as the new chief executive.
He will join later this year, replacing Amedeo Felisa.
