Talks underway over Saudi Arabian investment in Aston Martin

01/07/2022

On track: Aston Martin's Valkyrie hypercar

Early talks over a potential £200 million Saudi Arabian investment in British supercar maker Aston Martin are said to be underway after share prices dipped to a new record low.

The Financial Times has reported that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has opened talks with the Gaydon-based OEM over taking a possible stake in the business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2018.

Autocar had previously reported that another party linked to an investment fund on the West Coast of America had also shown interest in taking a stake.

But news of the potential influx of funding triggered a 14% decline in share prices in Aston Martin yesterday – compounding a near-70% decline year-to-date – dipping to a record low of 390p before recovering slightly to 439p this morning (July 1).

AM understands that stalled supplies of Aston Martin’s Valkyrie hypercar are now picking up pace, while a management team led by new chief executive Amedeo Felisa is focused on new model launches from 2023 onwards.

In May Aston Martin’s Q1 financial results revealed a loss before tax of £111.6m as its declined 116% further into the red from Q1 2021’s £42.2m pre-tax loss.

Revenues increased 4% to £232.7m as total wholesale volumes declined 14% to 1,168, signalling a focus on more expensive product lines, including the Valkyrie.

The brand, led by a consortium headed by executive chairman and Formula One racing team owner Lawrence Stroll, said it was on track to sell more than 6,600 cars this year, stating that its sports car production for 2022 was already sold out, and that Aston Martin DBX SUV orders are up 60% year-on-year.

Its trading update come three months after a set of 2021 annual financial results which revealed a 79% uplift in revenues and a near-halving of its pre-tax losses.

Spotlight on running a modern dealership 2023

The latest AM industry special issue

The complexity of running a modern dealership can be misunderstood easily by people looking in on our industry.

Any general manager has so many plates to spin, and they must foster a talented team that they can rely on to not just do the basics well, but to sprinkle some magic on top that customers can notice.

If the marketplace in 2023 is steadily returning to relative normality, this normality now includes the drive to find customers for an increasing supply of electric vehicles, and the need to source used cars from all channels and market them carefully. And of course there are the desires to delight consumers with an omnichannel experience and to hold on to decent margins after a couple of years of strong profitability.

The expectations of both the customer and the business’s stakeholder must be achieved to the optimum level.

In this special digital publication, industry experts, prominent suppliers and franchised dealers share their insights on the major aspects required in running a modern dealership well.

Read now