Aston Martin losses widen as US tariffs hit demand

(Sharecast News) - Luxury car maker Aston Martin Lagonda posted a third-quarter loss of £112m on the back of lower-than-expected wholesale volumes as a result of US tariffs. The loss before tax for the three months to September 30 compared with a loss of £12.2m a year ago. Total wholesale volumes fell 13% to 1,430 vehicles as reported three weeks ago when the company issued a profits warning.

Revenues for the first nine months of the year plunged 26% to £740m.

"The global macroeconomic environment facing the wider automotive industry remains challenging," Aston Martin said on Wednesday.

It cited US tariffs and the implementation of the quota mechanism, changes to China's ultra-luxury car taxes and the increased potential for supply chain pressures, particularly following the recent cyber attack at Jaguar Land Rover last month which cost its rival millions in lost revenues.

The fourth quarter was expected to deliver "improved sequential financial performance" supported by higher core volumes and sales of the Valhalla supercar - the first of which was delivered Aston this month.

Aston Martin plans to make 999 of the mid-engined, plug-in hybrid cars, priced at £850,000 each. The company said more than half of the models had already been ordered by customers and aims to deliver 150 by the end of the year to boost earnings.

Total full-year wholesale volumes are expected to decline by mid-to-high single digit percentages compared to 2024's 6,030.

Guidance for full-year adjusted operating losses were unchanged at the lower end of consensus estimates of £110m.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said although the poor performance was blamed on external factors "looking under the hood reveals some internal issues, and it'll take much more than a good mechanic to fix these".

"The second half was meant to bring relief for Aston Martin, driven by deliveries of the high-priced Valhalla supercar. But production has been slower than originally planned, with the first delivery only taking place in October," he said.

"That pace is set to ramp up to around 150 deliveries over the final quarter, before slowing down again to 500 over the whole of 2026. That would certainly help the group's finances, given the current baseline for specials over the first three quarters is just 20 cars. But with a history of overpromising and underdelivering, whether the ramp-up happens as expected is far from certain."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com