LONDON: Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc expects demand for its DBX SUV to help balance out delays for the Valkyrie supercar as the carmaker pushes ahead in its turnaround plan.
The Gaydon, England-based carmaker expects "meaningful growth” in 2022, as it rolls out new variants of the DBX, including the 707, billed as the most powerful SUV, Aston said Wednesday.
The manufacturer is also working on a V12 version of the Vantage sports car.
Aston says the new variants, along with price increases across a range of products, will help improve profitability.
The company has spent the last 18 months restructuring after a rescue by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
The 62-year-old fashion mogul injected cash and forged closer ties with Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz in the shift to electric and self-driving cars.
The carmaker reported fourth quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £65.6 million (RM373mil), falling short of analysts’ estimates of £81 million (RM461mil).
The company said it is on track to achieve its medium-term revenue and profit targets.
Aston expects to deliver more than 6,600 vehicles in 2022, a rise of 8%, and plans to spend about £300 million (RM1.7bil)) on capital expenditures and research and development, it said in a statement. Net debt rose to £892 million (RM5bil).
The carmaker will have hybrid variants of all its models in the next two years, with the first fully electric cars by 2025, Stroll said in an interview.
Aston also plans to deliver as many as 90 Valkyries this year.
Aston, alongside other carmakers like Stellantis NV, said that tight global supply chains continue to challenge production.
In January, Aston said delayed deliveries of the £2.4 million Valkyrie had reduced its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by about £15 million.
Still, the company said it sold more than 3,000 DBXs in the year, giving it a 20% share of the luxury SUV market.
"We always mentioned that 2023 is the year we become profitable,” Stroll said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
