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Aston Martin doubles sales in third quarter

LONDON — Aston Martin said on Thursday it had sold 1,349 cars to dealers in its third quarter, up 104%, driven by demand for the luxury automaker's first sport utility vehicle, the DBX. The brand, which posted a 97.9 million pound ($134 million) pre-tax loss between July and September, said it expected to deliver its first steps towards improved profitability this year as it undergoes a transformation plan. Fictional agent James Bond's carmaker of choice had a tough time after floating in 2018, as it burnt through cash, prompting it to bring in fresh investment and a new strategy from billionaire Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll. It maintained on Thursday its guidance of full-year sales of around 6,000 cars as it scales up production of its Valkyrie model with deliveries beginning this quarter. "Through the first nine months of this year we have successfully built on the foundations we put in place for the company's success in 2020," said Stroll. "Not only do we have low dealer inventory, but it is also healthy and fresh — a testament to our shift to ultra-luxury positioning." Related video:

Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG bicycles: Luxury branding has no bounds

Luxury automobile companies are never quite satisfied with building high-end cars. They often stray into other types of branded merchandise that can have little to do with cars, such as the BMW Active line of clothing and accessories. Splitting the difference between branded merchandise and actual vehicles are these two limited-production bicycles from Mercedes and Aston Martin. The bike above is a collaboration between Mercedes-AMG and German bicycle brand Rotwild, a builder that has been around since 1996, according to the company's website. The bicycle in question is the R.S2 "Beast of the Green Hell." It's inspired by the Mercedes-AMG GT R sports car that was promoted with the same nickname. It uses a carbon frame and wheels, as well as disc brakes. It's also painted in green and black to match the Green Hell Magno color available on the GT R. Only 50 of them will be built, and each will carry a pricetag of over ˆ7,000, or nearly $8,300 at current exchange rates, including tax. View 4 Photos The second bicycle is from Aston Martin and another German bicycle company, this one called Storck Bicycles. This bike company has also only been around since 1995. The bike is called the Fascenario.3 Aston Martin Edition, and it will be a bit less rare than the Mercedes bicycle, with 107 total units. It's still a cool vehicle, though, featuring a carbon frame and wireless shifters. In total it weighs 13 pounds. It does lack the disc brakes of the Mercedes bicycle, though. Pricing hasn't been announced for the Aston Martin bike, but don't expect it to be cheap. Related Video: Featured Gallery ROTWILD R.S2 Limited Edition Mercedes-AMG GT R bicycle View 9 Photos Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin Green Weird Car News Aston Martin Mercedes-Benz Performance mercedes-amg

Aston Martin seeks ‘big brother’ despite first profit in years, IPO talk

Aston Martin just reported that it earned $121 million (or GBP87 million) in 2017, its first profit in eight years, and it's preparing for a possible initial public offering, eyeing a valuation as high as $6.95 billion (GBP5 billion). It has a strategy to begin converting its fleet to hybrid and electric powertrains. Nevertheless, the low-volume British luxury marque says it needs a helping hand to survive the wave of autonomous driving technology sweeping the automotive industry. CEO Andy Palmer tells Bloomberg it's looking for a "big brother" partner to help it with the billions of dollars in capital requirements posed by the dawn of driverless cars. "We are making a new kind of company, a company that can survive on 7,000 to 14,000 very highly priced, very profitable cars a year, but it can survive because of its partnerships," Palmer told Bloomberg TV. "It can be very profitable on that 7,000 to 14,000 cars a year but only by having a big brother that can help it out." Palmer said Aston Martin already has a partnership with Daimler AG, which owns a 5-percent stake in the company, to develop autonomous capabilities, but more help is needed. One assumes he is envious of competitors like Rolls-Royce and Bentley, which benefit from the corporate parentage and financial resources of BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. Sales grew 48 percent in 2017 to nearly 5,100 units, Aston's highest sales volume in nine years, on the strength of the DB11 sports car, which starts at $211,995. It was enough for Palmer to proclaim in a release, "The financial turnaround of Aston Martin is now complete." While it shops around for a sugar daddy, Aston Martin is busy building a new factory in Wales, set to open in 2019. It has launched new models like the DB11 Volante and Vantage, plus the limited-production DB4 GT Continuation model. Further out, the company is building 155 examples of its first electric car, the RapidE, due in 2019, and it's developing an electric version of the DBX crossover, also for 2019. Palmer has said Aston Martin will offer all six of its vehicles in hybrid variants by 2025, with 25 percent of its vehicles to be fully electric by the end of the 2020s. Related Video: Image Credit: Aston Martin Aston Martin Autonomous Vehicles Electric Luxury aston martin rapide aston martin vantage aston martin db11 aston martin dbx aston martin db11 volante