Aston Martin saw its sales jump by 11 per cent to around 4200 in 2013, according to figures released by the company today. In the year ending on 31 December 2013, the British sports car maker also saw its annual revenue rise 13 per cent to £519m.
According to Aston, although its gross profit in 2013 was £167.1m its operating profit was just £1.5m. These wafer thin margins explain why Aston Martin has just raised around £100m to help it develop its next-generation VH platform.
Autocar understands that the ‘completely new’ VH platform will be engineered to use electrical and electronic system developed by Mercedes. Mercedes’ owner Daimler has a five per cent share in Aston Martin.
Aston Martin’s chief financial officer Hanno Kirner said that the company was embarking on "the biggest investment programme in the 101-year history of the brand." Kirner also said that Aston and Mercedes would be completing "shared development of world-class bespoke V8 powertrains".
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Dave richards Payoff?
great a 100million for electric steering
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More like everything else IS wrong
"More like everything else" is COMPLETELY wrong. The point of an Aston Martin IS that it's an Aston Martin. There is no point in an "Aston Martin" that is a Mercedes (or anything else) underneath. Hopefully, this additional investment will help Aston develop: 1) its OWN next-gen VH platform, one that has nothing to do with Mercedes; and 2) bespoke Aston engines, to the same degree that the current engines are Aston-only (i.e., the V12 is used by no other car, and the V8 shares nothing with the Jaguar V8 that it is "derived" from). Also, please don't do electric steering -- the current Astons have superb steering feel, and it is SO MUCH BETTER than every electric system out there. Also, PLEASE continue to offer manual gearboxes -- the lack of a manual 'box is a deal breaker for me.