Aston Martin limits US imports amid tariff uncertainty
Aston Martin has begun limiting car imports to the US as it wrestles with the fallout from Donald Trump’s erratic tariff regime.
The luxury carmaker was already forced to revised down sales targets slightly in April as Donald Trump’s liberation day announcement rocked global markets and sent shares in a string of carmakers spiralling.
Chief executive Adrian Hallmark said on Wednesday the firm was “carefully monitoring the evolving” situation and was currently limiting exports to the US while leveraging the stock held by its US dealers.
“We remain vigilant in monitoring events and will respond to changes in the operating environment as they materialise,” he told shareholders in a statement.
The global uncertainty has piled further pressure on Aston Martin as it already grapples with a depressed share price driven by supply chain problems and high debt.
The FTSE 250 firm reported a widening of operating losses by 15 per cent to £67.3m in the three months ended 31 March.
On an adjusted basis, earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) came in at £64.5m, down 13 per cent year-on-year.
Revenue also fell 13 per cent to £233.8m despite a marginal one per cent increase in wholesale volumes to £950m.
The firm said it expects to deliver a “significantly stronger” second half performance compared with the year prior, driven by deliveries of its Valhalla model.
“As guided, Q1 wholesale volumes were in line with the prior year and retail volumes materially outpaced wholesales, reflecting our disciplined approach to production and stock optimisation,” Hallmark said.
“Core average selling price increased by 10 per cent, demonstrating the positive impact of our recently launched range of ultra-luxury high performance models.”