Aston Martin revises forecasts on trading for 2019

Published by

Nicky Godding

Aston Martin Lagonda has cut its forecasts for the year, due to a challenging external environment highlighted in May and macro-economic uncertainties.

The Warwickshire-headquartered luxury car manufacturer says that it anticipates that this softness will continue for the remainder of the year and are planning prudently for 2020.

It expects FY 2019 wholesales to be lower, between 6,300-6,500 vehicles.

However, the company says that retail sales have grown by 26 per cent in the first half, production for DBX, its first sports utility vehicle, and Aston Martin Valkyrie remain on plan.

The 90-acre, former Ministry of Defence site at St Athan in Wales was announced as the second UK plant for Aston Martin Lagonda in early 2016 and since then the whole site, including three ‘Super Hangars’, has been transformed into a modern manufacturing facility.

The opening of St Athan has so far created 200 jobs and is expected to create up to 550 more. A further 3,000 jobs will likely be created across the supply chain and local businesses.

St Athan will be the sole production facility for the Aston Martin DBX, the brand’s first SUV, which has been created for this fast-growing segment of the luxury market. Last year, it was also named as Aston Martin Lagonda’s “Home of Electrification” and the manufacturing home of the Lagonda brand.

The Americas and APAC have continued to deliver strong growth while UK and European markets have decelerated further.

Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group CEO said: "Whilst retails have grown by 26 per cent year-to-date, our wholesale performance is adversely impacted by macro-economic uncertainty and enduring weakness in UK and European markets. We are disappointed that short-term wholesales have fallen short of our original expectations, but we are committed to maintaining quality of sales and protecting our brand position first and foremost. We are today taking decisive action to manage inventory and the Aston Martin Lagonda brands for the long-term. We remain focused on the successful execution of the Second Century Plan and on delivering sustainable long-term growth."

It said that the new DBX is on track with the new St Athan facility now commissioned and manufacturing the first pre-production cars. First orders will be taken at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, California, in August, with the global launch in December 2019 and start of production is Q2 2020, as planned.

Interim results for the six months to 30 June 2019 will be announced on 31 July 2019.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.