Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC (LSE:AML) has enjoyed some success with the rerelease of its iconic Vanquish flagship sports car, but the British luxury carmaker is still struggling with operating losses and broader volume declines.
New chief executive Adrian Hallmark said the carmaker’s newly released, critically lauded Vanuish V12 reissue fits “with our ultra-luxury high-performance strategy”.
With a starting price of £330,000 and a production limit of 1,000 units per year, Aston Martin has positioned Vanquish as a direct competitor to Ferrari (NYSE:RACE).
Its success pushed Aston Martin’s year-to-date average selling price (ASP) up 14% to £250,000.
But not all financial metrics were as encouraging. Total wholesale volumes were down 17% and revenues were down 4%, although losses before tax improved 12% to £228.9 million.
Reflecting wider trends in the luxury and ultra-luxury sectors, China sales weighed heavily on volumes.
Year-to-date volumes in China fell by 54%, which Aston Martin said was “driven by a combination of market dynamics and the timing of new model deliveries”.
The third quarter showed signs of improvement, with year-on-year wholesale volumes adding 14% and revenues bouncing 8% higher.
Aston Martin restated earlier fu;ll-year guidance of wholesale volumes falling by 1%. This reflects the 1,000-unit reduction declared in a September profit warning “to address disruption in its supply chain and continued macroeconomic weakness in China”.
Aston Martin’s share price is currently down more than 50%, largely due to a double-digit decline following the September profit warning.