WHY ASTON MARTINS JUST GOT EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE

THE price of a new Aston Martin has jumped by an average £16,000.

The British car maker sold 963 new cars in the first three months of the year for an average £160,000 each. That was up 11pc on the same period last year, when drivers typically paid £144,000.

The rising prices underline Aston Martin’s status as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of luxury cars. Some models typically fetch more than £200,000, while the 1956 DBR1 raced by Sir Stirling Moss sold for £16.8m at auction last year.

Despite booming sales in the US, China and other parts of Asia, total sales were lower than they were in the first quarter last year when it sold 1,203 new cars. The company, which builds its cars at its high-tech factory in Gaydon, Warwickshire, said the decline was expected as it prepared to launch new models, including the DB11 Volante, the Vantage and the DBS Superleggera.

With the rise in prices partly offsetting the fall in sales, revenues in the first quarter dipped from £188m to £185m. Profits fell from £5.5m to £2.8m as Aston Martin ramped up investment and suffered unfavourable currency swings.

As well as increasing investment in its cars, the company is building a new factory in St Athan in Wales.