Will new Aston Martin models have far higher prices?

[Jon39]

The recent V12 Vantage was priced from £265,000.
Even allowing for inflation, that was considerably more expensive than the original V12 Vantage Coupe.

The limited (101) edition 2013 V12 Vantage Roadster, had a list price of £150,000 (£200,000 today).

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To achieve the desired stated higher gross margins on future models, do you think the days of a new Aston Martin for less than £200,000 might be over ?

[Beckson]

I thought a criticism of the current Vantage is the high price especially considering the interior you get etc.

The residuals would have to be stronger for most to stomach that much of a price increase

[bogie]

The new Vantage was a price shock, but inflation adjusted from the 2006 price of the original Vantage and the new one pretty much costs the same as the old one. We forget just how much difference 15 years of inflation can make

I think Aston Martin need to go back up market to maintain higher margins for the fewer cars they sell. The original Vantage was really their move down market, to make a (relatively) affordable entry level car to compete with the likes of Porsche, along with the dreams of higher production volumes. That didn't work out as planned and even the Vantage continues to be a niche choice of car. I think Porsche probably make more cars in a month than Aston Martin have ever made in over 100 years....

[Agent57]

So the DB11 is a 'lower margin legacy model'?

Time to bring on the DB12 with just a V12 engine.

Maybe facelift the DB11 V8 and call it the DB11 GT with slightly more powerful engine (but not as powerful as the DB12)

[GreasyHands]

Under Stroll, the answer to the OP is clearly "yes". Stroll has said it repeatedly over and over on conference calls. That is the goal. It is no secret that the higher ASP is company objective #1. I've para-phased Stroll as saying, " We aren't going to make any more cheap, stty cars"


When and how Aston goes bust trying to get there is an other story. After the Saudi investment, looks like we might be back to early innings of watching a painful vanity project. Not the ending I was hoping for but life goes on.

[AstonV]

GreasyHands said:

Under Stroll, the answer to the OP is clearly "yes". Stroll has said it repeatedly over and over on conference calls. That is the goal. It is no secret that the higher ASP is company objective #1. I've para-phased Stroll as saying, " We aren't going to make any more cheap, stty cars"


When and how Aston goes bust trying to get there is an other story. After the Saudi investment, looks like we might be back to early innings of watching a painful vanity project. Not the ending I was hoping for but life goes on.

Stroll can raise the prices to the moon. But if AM continues to build the cars they are building now, cars no one wants, bye bye AM. Andy Palmer and Marek Reichman destroyed the brand in my opinion. And it's going to take about a billion $ to set it right. A big gamble.

[Jon39]

AstonV said:

Stroll can raise the prices to the moon. But if AM continues to build the cars they are building now, cars no one wants, bye bye AM.

I suppose Mr. S was encouraged with his high prices ambition, when 333 V12 Vantage Coupes sold before launch, for reportedly £300,000 each including options.

With the Valkyrie though, it sounds as though, even a very high price does not guarantee any profit . Andy Palmer did expect that at the outset, but the development woes presumably made it worse than anticipated.

[oilit]

Jon39 said:

AstonV said:

Stroll can raise the prices to the moon. But if AM continues to build the cars they are building now, cars no one wants, bye bye AM.

I suppose Mr. S was encouraged with his high prices ambition, when 333 V12 Vantage Coupes sold before launch, for reportedly £300,000 each including options.

With the Valkyrie though, it sounds as though, even a very high price does not guarantee any profit . Andy Palmer did expect that at the outset, but the development woes presumably made it worse than anticipated.

He must be drooling over the idea of the v12 roadster and the Zagato version then !!

[Ninja59]

I dont see it.

You need bread and butter cars to fund the halo stuff, irrespective of brand. Porsche only do it by having suv's, I think AM need the DBX and Vantage to fund the vanity halo stuff...

[AstonV]

Ninja59 said:

I dont see it.

You need bread and butter cars to fund the halo stuff, irrespective of brand. Porsche only do it by having suv's, I think AM need the DBX and Vantage to fund the vanity halo stuff...

Your right without them AM won't survive.

[nickv12]

For a profitable company, forget the V12 Vantage, Speedster, Valkyrie, et al, side shows. Even forget Vantage and DBS. The money is in DBX and - possibly - DB11.

In the DBX, based on car reviews, they absolutely nailed it. Now they need to sell them by the bucketload.

[Minglar]

It certainly seems to be one of the key objectives that LS has continually spoken about. In addition to a higher average selling price, he has also stated that an average sales margin of 40% is the target. I think that number is currently nearer to 20%. That’s not going to be easy with costs of materials etc as they currently are. It’s all well and good pricing in this way but ultimately the company needs to sell more cars. Current rates are not high enough, and even though LS has stated that the annual target is circa 10,000 vehicles, that represents a big jump from current production levels. And in the current environment it’s going to be difficult to achieve. They cannot make the same mistakes as before, ie over loading dealers with stock. I agree with Nick in that DBX is probably still the key. DBX707 deliveries should be starting soon (if not already) and that is now the car it should have been at launch. But imho they also need to offer a hybrid or some form of electrified version as soon as they can. The problem is of course, that Porsche picked out that particular niche almost twenty years ago, and the premium SUV market is now saturated with many different options for buyers. Clearly a rehash of new Vantage is required too. Whether the recent cash injection, assuming it happens of course, is enough to provide the funds for meaningful changes across the range next year, we shall see. Will this all just kick the can down the road, or will it get AM through this tough time and clean out of the other side? Time will tell I guess.

Best Regards

Minglar