Aston Martin gets £150m investment package
£150m funding will allow Aston to compete with Porsche and Bentley
The future of Aston Martin looks more assured thanks to an injection of £150million from European investment group Investindustrial.
After weeks of rumour, Aston Martin has confirmed that London-based Investindustrial (which was recently part of the group that sold bike manufacturer Ducati to Audi) will take a 37.5 per cent stake in the company – the remaining 62.5 per cent is held by Kuwaiti investors, led by The Investment Dar.
Aston chairman David Richards said: "Investindustrial’s new investment reflects and sustains the unique position of Aston Martin within the industry. With this partnership and the continued commitment of The Investment Dar, we look forward to working with our shareholders as we realise our vision and exciting future plans."
The deal will enable Aston to plough half a billion pounds into the development of much-needed new models – recent figures have shown a drop in sales by 20 per cent.
Aston has recently launched the new Vanquish and revised DB9, while a new Rapide is expected to arrive in the early part of next year and a Vanquish Volante also expected before the end of 2013.
However, the extra funds are expected to be used to further develop the company’s VH platform architecture, as well as a new range of more efficient, smaller capacity engines that will better enable the British brand to compete with the likes of Porsche and Bentley.
Meanwhile, company insiders have hinted that development of a new Lagonda model – as previewed by an SUV concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009 – is continuing, although we don’t expect to see a new Aston Martin Lagonda before 2015.
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