Hold the front page! Aston Martin has made a profit -- for the first time in 40 years.
According to Aston boss Ulrich Bez, cash in exceeded cash out for the first time since the 1960s last year, a factoid that has not been made public until now because the company's accounts are merged in with others in with Ford's premium brands division, Premiere Automotive Group (PAG). PAG, which also includes Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, lost money as a whole last year, however.
Aston has done well, according to Bez, because of the rise of the super-rich -- there's a record number of millionaires around, resulting in a rise in sales of luxury saloons of 20 per cent in the first six months of 2006 compared to 2005's similar period.
However, it might also have something to do with the cars. When Bez joined Aston Martin, it only sold the DB7. Now it sells several models, all but the Vanquish sitting on a cost-saving common platform. Also, sales to the US have expanded, and the number of cars produced is set to rise from 300 when he joined to some 5,000 this year.
AM's also captured more halo factor, with the DBR9 which came second in prestige racing such as Le Mans, plus the Bond connection that's been reforged with the latest film -- out soon -- featuring the £160,000 DBS, a model that'll only be launched as a limited-run model in summer 2007. It's a huge ad for the car. Bez reckoned the relationship between Bond and Aston Martin was "a love affair', asserting that AM doesn't pay the filmmakers.
Bez also told the Times that the car's beauty and soul had a lot to do with AM's success. "The DB9 is the most beautiful, aesthetic car in the world. There is no competition. This is the base factor for its success", he said.