Aston Martin seeks funds to safeguard its future

[chic0821]

The Chinese (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group) have certainly revived Volvo & they seem to let them do the Volvo thing without much interference. Aston Martin, perhaps too niche a market but could be a good fit.

 

[chic0821]

Perhaps they should copy Bentley's trading model. £335 million profit from selling 14695 cars & increasing the cost of the cars. By the end of May the average price was £220000 up from£150000 last year & they are expecting to raise the price this year by 1.5 percent.
Maybe Aston should make the Bentley MD an offer he cannot resist or he might see a company that cannot be revived

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Perhaps they should copy Bentley's trading model. £335 million profit from selling 14695 cars & increasing the cost of the cars. By the end of May the average price was £220000 up from£150000 last year & they are expecting to raise the price this year by 1.5 percent.
Maybe Aston should make the Bentley MD an offer he cannot resist or he might see a company that cannot be revived

That’s the benefit of being able to share platforms, engines, systems, production control, supply chain and other things with a larger, higher volume parent company, combined with the additional investment to design and build cars which are in demand.

 

[DrNick]

Going back to the old coach builder model. Buy a chassis and put your own body on it. isn’t that how RollsRoyce started in cars?
Next stage -kit cars! I’d consider a AM kit.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Perhaps they should copy Bentley's trading model. £335 million profit from selling 14695 cars & increasing the cost of the cars. By the end of May the average price was £220000 up from£150000 last year & they are expecting to raise the price this year by 1.5 percent.
Maybe Aston should make the Bentley MD an offer he cannot resist or he might see a company that cannot be revived

That's a quotable quote: "Average Bentley price £220k (up from £150k in 2020)"

"Gott in Himmel," as they say in the Fatherland. Hope it's true.

(And I believe VAG have similar numbers in from Lamborghini)

Who knew that video Influencers would have such an impact ? ("Other explanations are available")

 

[chic0821]

That's a quotable quote: "Average Bentley price £220k (up from £150k in 2020)"

Hope it's true.

Yes its true. Part of an article in Money Mail last week
Aston or that Bentley you pictured. Don't even have to think about it, Bentley for me.
A friend of mine bought a new Aston a couple of years ago. Had not seen him for a while but he was in a Porsche. What happened to the Aston I asked. Worst car I ever had he replied. Had it for 6 months & in that time it was in the dealers on & off for at least 3 months

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Yes its true. Part of an article in Money Mail last week
Aston or that Bentley you pictured. Don't even have to think about it, Bentley for me.
A friend of mine bought a new Aston a couple of years ago. Had not seen him for a while but he was in a Porsche. What happened to the Aston I asked. Worst car I ever had he replied. Had it for 6 months & in that time it was in the dealers on & off for at least 3 months

To be fair to Aston, they've been unreliable for ever and a day. Which is why Aston has been sold every decade since the 1930's.

It's the world of the small manufacturer, which is why they "need" to sell their brand to a mass manufacturer that can use it. (Not Ford)

But does MB, or anyone else, have the appetite to integrate it ? Apart from the Chinese who have infinite money and need that radiator

 

[Darrell]

To be fair to Aston, they've been unreliable for ever and a day. Which is why Aston has been sold every decade since the 1930's.

It's the world of the small manufacturer, which is why they "need" to sell their brand to a mass manufacturer that can use it. (Not Ford)

But does MB, or anyone else, have the appetite to integrate it ? Apart from the Chinese who have infinite money and need that radiator

Aston Martin Cygnet. There’s one of those round my way. 50A on the plate.

 

[Skd884]

Saudi Arabia gets board seat at Aston Martin as it injects £200m

Gulf nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund plans to take a 20pc stake in the luxury car brand

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Skd884]

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Makes a lot of sense. The Saudi sovereign fund has a deep pocket and enthusiasm for a vanity investment. Will a placing and Rights issue of £575 million go down well in this environment? Who knows?

Might even result in more than a few elite golfers like Ian Poulter buying, and not driving, Astons instead of Ferraris at the end of the decade.

 

[Skd884]

"Specifically, we ended June with more than 350 cars we had planned to deliver in the quarter still awaiting final parts, consuming tens of millions in cash and temporarily limiting our ability to meet the strong demand we have" 29.07.22

 

[ChrisHGTV]

That's a quotable quote: "Average Bentley price £220k (up from £150k in 2020)"

"Gott in Himmel," as they say in the Fatherland. Hope it's true.

(And I believe VAG have similar numbers in from Lamborghini)

Who knew that video Influencers would have such an impact ? ("Other explanations are available")

Does anyone know the significance of the TU number plates? I’ve often seen these on Company Bentleys and just wondered if there was any specific relevance? I did actually see one on the road once many years ago.

 

[John]

Does anyone know the significance of the TU number plates? I’ve often seen these on Company Bentleys and just wondered if there was any specific relevance? I did actually see one on the road once many years ago.

Pretty sure it's because the letters TU were released in the closest area to Crewe (Cheshire I think).

Not sure if that is the truth or not but sounds plausible.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Pretty sure it's because the letters TU were released in the closest area to Crewe (Cheshire I think).

Not sure if that is the truth or not but sounds plausible.

Yes that’s my understanding too, it’s just nod to the past when Bentley’s own cars would have been registered through the Chester registration office, which used TU as it’s identifier.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

A deliberate nod back to a century at Crewe. Used on advertising, and used on personalised plates by enthusiasts in the UK, USA and other areas where you can buy a personalised plate.

 

[Skd884]

Aml

 

[Gbrowncls55]

Becoming part of Mercedes-Benz Group would be the best outcome.

True for Aston, but in the current climate not much in it other than a huge money pit for Mercedes ag

 

[MEMERC7]

Yes its true. Part of an article in Money Mail last week
Aston or that Bentley you pictured. Don't even have to think about it, Bentley for me.
A friend of mine bought a new Aston a couple of years ago. Had not seen him for a while but he was in a Porsche. What happened to the Aston I asked. Worst car I ever had he replied. Had it for 6 months & in that time it was in the dealers on & off for at least 3 months

I too have witnessed AM's unreliability & poor build. Friend has owned a DB4 GT for about 10 years & has spent thousands of pounds having it mechanically restored & repaired but has never bothered with the cosmetics apart from replacing & re-spraying much of the lower parts of the bodywork, the rest has got rust & touch-in paint blobs all over it. The joke is that's it's hardly been driven because there is always something having to be done to it & it's ALWAYS mechanical. I passengered in it a couple of times. The first when it almost broke down & had to limp home. The second was downright scary because there were no exterior mirrors & the inside mirror vibrated so badly it had to be held in order to be used. Thus checking to see if anybody was overtaking or needing to change lanes when on the motorway was just dam dangerous & nigh on impossible. What made it worse & stupid was that the owner was so blinkered & pedantic to the point of eccentricity when it came to originality that he insisted on retaining the original rear light bulbs. Never have I been so pleased to get out of the dam thing & in one piece. And as for the cockpit noise which the owner kept on grinning about because it was the sound of a wonderful engine, (all clatter & rattling chains to me).
To summarise the AM was & is a static piece of machinery that rarely works properly - Oh I forgot, the passenger door had to be heaved open & had to be pulled closed with a bang or else it re-opened on its own. As for the snobby AM Club owners - don't get me started.

 

[Darrell]

I too have witnessed AM's unreliability & poor build. Friend has owned a DB4 GT for about 10 years & has spent thousands of pounds having it mechanically restored & repaired but has never bothered with the cosmetics apart from replacing & re-spraying much of the lower parts of the bodywork, the rest has got rust & touch-in paint blobs all over it. The joke is that's it's hardly been driven because there is always something having to be done to it & it's ALWAYS mechanical. I passengered in it a couple of times. The first when it almost broke down & had to limp home. The second was downright scary because there were no exterior mirrors & the inside mirror vibrated so badly it had to be held in order to be used. Thus checking to see if anybody was overtaking or needing to change lanes when on the motorway was just dam dangerous & nigh on impossible. What made it worse & stupid was that the owner was so blinkered & pedantic to the point of eccentricity when it came to originality that he insisted on retaining the original rear light bulbs. Never have I been so pleased to get out of the dam thing & in one piece. And as for the cockpit noise which the owner kept on grinning about because it was the sound of a wonderful engine, (all clatter & rattling chains to me).
To summarise the AM was & is a static piece of machinery that rarely works properly - Oh I forgot, the passenger door had to be heaved open & had to be pulled closed with a bang or else it re-opened on its own. As for the snobby AM Club owners - don't get me started.

Never meet your heroes.