Aston's financial woes continue, no EV till 2030s
More debt, more losses, fewer sales - and now, fewer staff too. But hybrid 'refresh' inbound...
Back when Lawrence Stroll and Yew Tree Investments first bought into Aston Martin a little more than six years ago, it felt like a new dawn for the brand. The Canadian would bring much-needed funding and no little ambition to Aston, with the F1 team rebrand alongside to bring the motorsport glamour. And while there have been many successes since 2020 - the current lineup of cars is the best it’s ever been - that hasn’t been enough to comprehensively turn Aston’s fortune around. To the extent that job cuts are in the offing.
Whether its US tariffs or China’s faltering economy, now is not a good time to be selling European-built luxury cars. In its 2025 results, Aston confirmed that 5,448 wholesale cars were sold last year: 3,549 Sport/GT, 1,717 DBXs, and 182 Specials (stuff like the Valhalla). That’s a drop of 10 per cent compared to 2024, partly attributable to fewer Specials (presumably with Valkyries, Valiants and Valours delivered back then) and partly, says Aston, thanks to a ‘disciplined approach to core production and uncertainty resulting from U.S. tariff and quota mechanism.’ Though Trump has cut the 27.5 per cent tariff on UK import cars to 10 per cent, that only applies to the first 100,000 vehicles, and it’s a first-come, first-serve situation - so it’s hard to guarantee anything.
A volatile market situation means the raw stats aren’t exactly encouraging. Aston Martin’s adjusted loss before tax and interest more than doubled from 2024 to £189m in 2025, while its net debt increased 19 per cent to £1.4bn. So last week’s news about selling the F1 naming rights to AMR GP Holdings (another company with Stroll involvement) for £50m makes some more sense now. Desperate measures are being sought for desperate times. Or to ‘enhance the Group's liquidity position’, in finance speak.
Related to which, last week’s profit warning was accompanied by confirmation that the firm plans to cut the global workforce by around 20 per cent. Significant whatever the size of the staff, but when it’s only 3,000 people anyway that’s an impact that will be felt throughout the business. With tariffs unlikely to be going anywhere as long as the Donald is President, it’s been deemed the right time to reduce operational costs further.
As far as the cars are concerned, expect to see more low-volume cars like the Valhalla and the recent V12s. That’s where the most margin is, after all. Interestingly, 60 per cent of customers in 2025 were new to the Aston Martin brand, and while they won’t all have been buying 1,000hp PHEVs, it means a new batch of clients that might be there one day. And as far as hybrids go, the Valhalla, as expected, won’t be the last, with the core models (Vantage, DB12, DBX, Vanquish) getting a ‘full refresh combining combustion-based powertrains with electrical assistance’ between now and the end of the decade.
Aston had already intimated as much, though it’s been made clear by manufacturers like Ferrari (296 and SF90/849) as well as Lamborghini (Revuelto, Urus, Temerario) that a well-executed hybrid strategy can be welcome news when it comes to global sales, so expect that sooner rather than later now that Aston has a plug-in template to work from. As well as a continuation of limited editions and expansion of customisation possibilities to get the most profit from each vehicle.
The last time PH spoke to Aston’s CEO, he suggested that a (delayed) fully electric model would be revealed by the end of the decade, and there is no suggestion that the manufacturer is rushing to get there. The plan for now is about finalising the strategy, as regulatory frameworks and customer demands change, ahead of ‘incrementally’ adding ‘all-electric drivetrains alongside efficient combustion powertrain vehicles’ in the first half of the next decade.
Aston, like just about everybody else, wants that move to ‘coincide with the introduction of next step change in innovative battery technology’. Which feels like it’s been on the way for a long time now. And if the customer clinics say they don’t really want an Aston EV, there certainly won’t be one for the sake of it. V12s are surely a much simpler way to make money.
Tough times lay ahead, though, and Aston is not alone in going through the wringer. In an interview with the FT, Adrian Hallmark made it clear that he expects Stroll to continue his Aston investment, saying: “I can’t speak for Lawrence directly but everything I’ve seen in the past 15 months demonstrates more commitment to this brand than probably any other shareholder in the history of this brand.” But everyone involved will know that losses can’t continue forever. The situation has to improve at some point soon - doesn’t it?
It brings me absolutely no joy to see Aston Martin continue to struggle. (I’m aware these threads and this saga in particular seem to attract contributors who appear to enjoy their pains). The market will miss Aston if it falls and, more to my point, UK plc will definitely miss it if it folds. I wish it well.
For clarity, I’m in no position to directly contribute myself!
That said a Vantage is a potential next weekend car, because I have soft spot for them.
Aston trades on heritage, one that each year gets further away, they are a sub 6k cars shipped annually organisation that seems to want to operate as a mass producer, the number of UK dealers is high for the number of cars they sell here.
They are stuck in that horrible middle ground and in my mind, the cars are getting too big, almost every car is longer / wider than its benchmark competitor the 911 for what should be the majority of its volume sales, DB11 / Vantage ....
I still plan on owning one though ...
Not that like David Brown fella, eh? Who remembers him and his fleeting 25 year ownership of the company?
The big question is whether Larry Stroll has the money and will to continue burning cash at AM. Right now, it looks bad.
It brings me absolutely no joy to see Aston Martin continue to struggle. (I m aware these threads and this saga in particular seem to attract contributors who appear to enjoy their pains). The market will miss Aston if it falls and, more to my point, UK plc will definitely miss it if it folds. I wish it well.
For clarity, I m in no position to directly contribute myself!
This will help the dealerships and future gowth of the brand.
The Vantage was the baby Aston designed to pull in a less affluent crowd. That could have been the Boxter challenger (price differential of the original admittedly a challenge). They probably cannot reverse that now.
They need more product differentiation. The cheaper Vantage. The middle ground GT being the DB12 now. Vanquish / DBS as a more hardcore version.
The Vanquish is more hyper car now but like the Vantage I am not sure it carries the name / positioning well. Looks great as a muscle car type setup maybe they could have done something with that design and a different name.
DBX should be the prettiest SUV on the market but looks awkward.
Perhaps they got caught between keeping their past successes and trying to not look old fashioned.
t because they are not selling enough cars yet they go about making the Valhalla, Valkyrie, Valour and Valliant while the day to day cars people actually buy are struggling. Kind of feels a touch like MG Rover building Mangusta's and sticking Mustang engines in the 75 etc.I think if they really want to pull themselves out they need to refocus what they are doing. The old adage of everything will sell at the right price is very true. If we look at prices before options, the Vantage is priced too high to draw anyone away from their 911. There then isnt that much gap to a DB12. The DBX is more expensive than the Bentayga and people are obviously walking past the Vanquish to get at the Ferrari and McLaren etc.
Every model they have created in my driving time I have looked at and thought there has often been something that just makes them not the car you would buy over their competitors. Sometimes its something practical like the god awful Volvo sat nav on the 00's cars and sometimes its styling like with some of the more recent front grilles that are so massive they look like basking sharks.
I also wonder, if James Bond had not used a DB5 in the films whether the sales would be as high as they even are today. The company feels like Jaguar in some ways and even Rover as referenced above as in proud British companies with a solid history that has somehow struggled in the modern world. I think this is only going to get harder with newer generations of drivers coming through that were not even children when that solid history was contemporary.
Would Aston Martin be better off building a car like an Alpine A110 competitor?
Lower price point but far greater sales numbers, maybe even a bigger sales margin?
Lambo is a good example, Porsche another, where it is really a brand in the line up but not supported by a company behind the scenes as the others are.
Ferrari was under the wing of Fiat and still private family investment.
Aston will go the way of Lambo and others, it not special enough though they have tried and may succeed.
AMG / Merc?
Would be good if there was a British wing it could flourish under - JLR once upon a time but not currently.
As an engineering company, Ferrari also produces its own engines.
AM were selling the most cars under the Bez era, when he knew that it needed to have it's own bespoke V8 and V12 engines.
But the current leadership have their heads in the sand. They think by making it prettier (debatable) and having a nice interior will cover the fact it still can't manufacture it's own engines.
Look back in history and see where all the other "manufacturers" using crate engines ended up.
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