Aston Martin chases after Ferrari in EV push
STORY: Aston Martin wants to be more efficient and profitable as it makes the expensive drive towards electricification.
The luxury carmaker - James Bond's favourite - said its shift to electric will be helped by a deal with Mercedes-Benz.
The German auto giant will give Aston Martin access to its engines and other technology.
Aston Martin chief executive Tobias Moers:
"This is a journey, everybody is on it. Everybody in the performance segment facing that, how can I keep my DNA when it comes fully electric? I'm not so scared about that. Even the brand is more important when it comes to the future fully electric.”
Under the guidance of billionaire part-owner Lawrence Stroll, the luxury brand has undergone a manufacturing makeover to lift margins and prepare for electrification.
The aim is to become more like rival Ferrari.
Stroll says the company is targeting a gross profit margin per vehicle of at least 40% and in some cases 50% on its new vehicles.
Analysts put Ferrari's figure at over 55%.
By 2025, Aston Martin aims to sell 10,000 cars annually - nearly 40% more than in 2021, and close to Ferrari's production.
"You know, we created the story of efficiency for us. We know that we were led by manufacturing, heavy on the manufacturing side. We talked a lot now about our turnover and the turnaround in the manufacturing to get us to much more efficient level of understanding how we run the business.”
Aston Martin's cars now sell for an average of around 150,000 pounds, or about $190,000.
Customization is a major way to driver higher sales prices.
Customised orders now account for 50% of sales versus 6% when Moers joined the firm.
Even so, some analysts say the carmaker is burning through cash, and question its ability to generate the Ferrari-like sales needed to fund the vast cost of electrification.
