Luxury Autos on the Cheap
Luxury auto makers are looking to cheaper alternatives in order to entice a wider variety of car shoppers.
Aston Martin, a very well known luxury auto maker throughout the world, is running into a cash flow problem. Ford, the company’s part-owner, has sold their shares off. AM has less money to put towards development. Luckily, minimalism seems to be very “in” throughout the Auto Industry.
“It’s still that same old basic design,” says Ian McCallum, the Aston Martin DB9 designer who now heads design at Jaguar’s Land Rover division. “Some will argue that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But you do get to a time when you have to move on.”
The company will make less changes to their next generation of vehicles. Domestic auto makers, such as Ford, Chevy and Hyundai, are selling base-model vehicles like hot cakes. People no longer need automatic transmission, 18-speakers / 24-cd changer options on cars. Just 4-wheels and a small, fuel efficient engine.
Aston Martin reportedly uses old technologies and engines in order to keep costs down. Its profit margin is around 20% – which is a “very healthy number” in an industry where 10% is considered good.
Another luxury car maker is going forward with an entry level line. Sales for the Germans are down 12% this year.
Porsche wants to expand its sales from 100,000 vehicles a year to 150,000 globally by 2013. To do that, “Porsche will double the number of models in its lineup from four to eight. It may do that by adding an entry-level model below the Boxster as well as a small SUV based on the VW Tiguan.”
You might start seeing more Aston Martins and Porsche cars used as family sedans in the near future.
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