Long roads lie ahead for Britain’s Aston Martin as losses widen and SUV sales slump
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc saw losses widen in the first half of the year after the British carmaker sold fewer luxury SUVs.
The company delivered 1,998 vehicles in the six months through June, almost a third fewer than a year earlier. Aston Martin saw SUV deliveries plunge by more than 1,000 in the period to just over 500, which it attributed to the introduction of its newer DBX707 model. The company has also been winding down production of its older Vantage sports car model.
The carmaker reported a pretax loss of £216.7 million ($279 million), wider than the £142.2 million loss it saw a year earlier, but stuck to its full-year guidance.
Aston Martin is in the middle of a turnaround led by Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll. The Canadian billionaire has been forced to tap investors for funds repeatedly since rescuing the company in 2020, bringing in new shareholders such as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The company — which has long been associated with the James Bond movies — is trying to cash in on the growing popularity of Formula One racing as it looks to launch new models more frequently than in the past. The F1 team is owned by Stroll and is separate to the listed carmaker.
Former Bentley Motors Ltd. boss Adrian Hallmark is joining as chief executive officer as of Sept. 1, earlier than initially planned, the company announced Wednesday. Hallmark is taking over from 77-year-old Amedeo Felisa to become the fourth CEO since Stroll arrived and is tasked with helping to revive the share price, which has fallen by a third this year.
Revenue slumped 11% to £603 million, but was a slightly better performance than analysts expected, thanks to the average selling price of its cars rising 29% to £274,000. Deliveries fell by the most in the Americas region, which saw a 40% drop.
