Aston Martin stalls on bottom line again

ASTON Martin Lagonda, the British luxury car-maker, is experiencing a resurgence in Australia, with sales up by almost 20 per cent so far this year.

However, the release this week of the latest financial figures for the Kuwaiti, Italian and British investment group-owned brand show a much more grim picture for the company globally.

For every car sold last year, the company lost about $600.

Aston Martin, which celebrates its centenary this year, reported a £24.6 million ($A41.6 million) loss for the 2012 calendar year, its second dip into red ink in as many years. The 2012 loss pushes the amount of money Aston Martin has lost in the last two years to £45.8 million.

The result came on the back of the revelation that Aston Martin sold fewer cars globally last year, just 67,500 units compared with a record high of 110,000 units in 2007, the year it was sold by US car-making giant Ford.

The drop in sales also ties in with the announcement last week that Aston Martin would stop production of the Cygnet, a highly modified compact two-door version of the Toyota iQ city hatchback.

The Cygnet was Aston Martin’s response to toughening European emissions laws that worked against car-makers that produced big-engined vehicles. It was tipped to sell about 4000 units a year and priced from about $50,000, but Aston has revealed that it only sold about 150 units since production started in 2011.

According to documents filed with the British government, Aston Martin said the premium luxury sports market segment it competed in had been “severely affected by recession” and had suffered from “weakness in European markets and vehicle launches occurring in the fourth quarter”.