Aston Martin might hold a special place in the hearts of most petrolheads, but the company hasn’t been making money the last few years. Could an SUV turn things around for Aston?
Aston Martin has not been profitable for years. The company invested a massive 500 million euros in a five-year plan, and has subsequently been operating at a loss. But things look set to change. According to Chief Financial Officer Hanno Kirner the company will start showing a profit sometime after 2016.
“Once we finish the investment phase, we are very, very confident that it’s going to take us to a very sustainable profitability. We expect to return to significant profitability in the periods after 2016,” Kirner told Reuters recently.
It isn’t clear whether Aston Martin is preparing to launch an SUV, but with companies such as Bentley and Rolls-Royce seemingly intent on building SUVs, it would be surprising if Aston didn’t follow suit. After all, the success of vehicles such as the Porsche Cayenne have shown the positive effect that an SUV can have on the bottom line of a company that normally shifts luxury sportscars in small numbers.
The company has said that it remains open to the possibility, and even unveiled the Lagonda SUV Concept in 2009, so it would be surprising if we didn’t see an Aston Martin SUV at some stage. At the moment, building an SUV seems like one of the most promising ways to ensure profitability.