British luxury sports car manufacturer Aston Martin expects to return to profitability after 2016, according to the company’s finance officer. That’s when the carmaker expects to see the benefits of its £500 million ($843 million) five-year investment program.
“Once we finish the investment phase, we are very, very confident that it’s going to take us to a very sustainable profitability,” Aston Martin Chief Financial Officer Hanno Kirner was quoted as saying by Reuters. “We expect to return to significant profitability in the periods after 2016,” he added.
Last month, Aston Martin announced that it is developing a new platform, while continuing the strategic partnership with Daimler that allows it to source a new generation of bespoke V8 engines from the German carmaker’s Mercedes-AMG division.
Aston Martin has had a rough year. The company decided to stop making the Cygnet city car in October 2013 and suffered from the lack of an SUV model, a segment that helped many automakers ride the crisis in Europe. The company remains “open-minded” to a possible SUV, especially now when Bentley and Rolls-Royce are working on similar models.
In February, Aston Martin was forced to recall 17,590 cars after discovering that counterfeit plastic material was used by one of its Chinese suppliers for the production of pedals. The recall cost £1.5 million ($2.53 million) but attracted negative media coverage in China, where Aston Martin was accused of stereotyping low-quality “Made in China” manufacturing.
By Dan Mihalascu
Note: 2009 Aston Martin Lagonda Concept pictured
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