Aston offered a hint of its future design direction with the DB10 concept it created for the new 007 film.
With a new management team already in place, Aston Martin is getting gotten a fresh cash commitment from a big Italian investment firm that should help it move ahead with what is being billed as the most aggressive product program in the British marque’s history.
Among other things, the pledge by Investindustrial SpA could permit Aston Martin lagonda Ltd. To add its first crossover-utility vehicle to the line-up of products it plans to introduce in the next half-decade. Aston has laid out plans to double sales to 8,000 vehicles annually as its line-up expands.
“Aston has an industrial plan which is growing in its ambitions and we have always planned to participate in all funding needs that Aston has,” said Investindustrial Chairman Andrea Bonomi speaking to reporters in Milan. “If Aston needs capital, we’re there.”
Investindustrial purchased a 37.5% stake in Aston in 2012. The British maker’s other key shareholders are two Kuwaiti investment firms, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co., which stepped in when Aston was sold off by Ford Motor Co. during the run-up to the Great Recession.
Aston is the only major high-line brand that currently operates independently, though it recently announced an alliance with Daimler AG. It will gain access to new engines developed by Daimler’s high-performance AMG subsidiary that will be used in future Aston vehicles.
Last May, Aston announced what it billed as the largest product development program in its history. The plan called for an investment of $845 million – a relative pittance compared to the funds competitors like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche plan to spend in the coming years – but nonetheless the biggest investment ever by the Gaydon, England-based manufacturer long known for its association with fictional super spy James Bond.
(Click Here to check out the custom DB10 created for the next 007 flick.)
“A buck travels farther with us,” asserted Hanno Kirner, Aston Martin’s Chief Financial Officer, during a May 2014 briefing outlining the plans.
But there were plenty of questions about where Aston would raise the necessary cash, an issue that the Investindustrial announcement this week appears to help resolve.
Another key concern was resolved last year when Aston announced it would fill a year-long vacancy in its corporate suite by bringing in Andy Palmer as its new chief executive. The British-born Palmer had been working as the global product planning czar at Nissan Motor Co. He was later joined by former Nissan colleague Simon Sproule, now Aston’s marketing director.
(Palmer unexpectedly bolts from Nissan for Aston Martin. Click Here for the story.)
Aston is expected to provide “a clear indication of where the brand is going” during a news conference at the Geneva Motor Show in March, said Investindustrial’s Bonomi. Among other things, he suggested, that will include a new crossover-utility vehicle, as well as updates or replacements of Aston’s existing line of sports cars, such as the $184,000 DB9.
The likelihood of an Aston Martin crossover-utility vehicle might have seemed out of place just a couple years ago, but with CUVs and SUVs now the fastest-growing niche in the global automotive market, more and more high-line manufacturers are entering the fray.
Bentley will officially unveil its first ute later this year, while rival Rolls-Royce has hinted it is working up a similar concept. Maserati also is getting ready to launch a luxury SUV. The Cayenne, meanwhile, has become the powerhouse in the Porsche line-up.
“We’re at the beginning of the revamp plan,” said Bonomi.
Investors are responding positively to the news of the new cash plan, but long-term questions about Aston remain, some analysts speculating whether the exclusive maker might eventually have to find a bigger partner, possibly as part of an expanded alliance with Daimler.
(For more on Aston Martin’s financial challenges, Click Here.)