Aston Martin rules out making cars aimed at women despite females driving car sales
FEMALE drivers are helping to power sales of Aston Martin’s new flagship SUV, with one in 10 of the cars bought by women as the luxury marque seeks to overhaul its brand.
Although such high levels of demand are unusual for a car type with a traditionally macho image, Aston bosses said they do not intend to launch a car specifically tailored for female motorists.
It comes as the company posted interim results that reveal surging sales and narrowing losses, after appointing two high-profile women from fashion and luxury backgrounds to its board.
Tobias Moers, chief executive, said: “Our cars are all about the driving experience. I’m not sure we need bespoke cars for females. It’s not a good direction to take in my experience.” Aston sold 2,901 vehicles in the six months to the end of June, more than treble the number a year earlier, while revenues jumped from £146m to £499m.
The DBX – its first SUV – accounted for more than half of all sales. Mr Moers said that “north of 10pc” of the cars are being driven by women.
Aston is still recovering from a Covidinduced sales collapse on top of existing challenges in the business following years of funding problems. It recorded a pre-tax loss of £91m, an improvement of the £227m lost a year earlier. Mr Moers, who joined Aston last summer from Mercedes’ performance arm AMG, is helping drive a turnaround overseen by chairman Lawrence Stroll.
Earlier this month he announced new directors. Dame Natalie Massanet, founder of luxury fashion website Neta-porter, and Marigay Mckee, whose career included senior roles at Harrods and Saks Fifth Avenue, joined the car marker as a non-executive director.
Shares in Aston Martin closed up more than 2pc at £19.28.
Just 69,097 cars rolled off UK production lines in June, the worst since 1953, bar last summer’s lockdown-hit result, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. This was a 22pc drop on a year ago, and meant the 498,923 cars built in the first half of 2021 was 40pc below the five-year average.