Aston Martin's CEO Has An Outrageous Strategy To Rescue The Brand—By Reducing Work Efforts | Carscoops

      Adrian Hallmark, who previously guided Bentley towards success, aims to achieve the same with Aston Martin. He has established a timeline of 12 to 18 months to lead Aston Martin back to profitability.

      The CEO asserts that financial success hinges on value rather than merely increasing vehicle sales. The brand plans to concentrate on developing new derivatives from existing models to foster growth.

      As the newly-appointed chief executive, Hallmark is faced with the significant task of revitalizing the company’s historically troubled financial state within a tight 12 to 18 month timeframe. Although Aston Martin has faced financial difficulties throughout its 112-year existence, Hallmark has a proven record. As the former CEO of Bentley, he was instrumental in its financial recovery, and now he is tackling what may be his greatest challenge so far.

      In a conversation with Automotive News, Hallmark referred to the opportunity to achieve sustainable profitability for Aston Martin as "irresistible." However, he is acutely aware that time is of the essence. “It has to be done in 12 to 18 months; by then, it must be on the right track,” he stated. "I’m not saying we will reach Ferrari-level financial performance by that time, but it will be headed in the right direction.”

      While Hallmark did not specify a timeline for Aston Martin to become profitable, he emphasized that increasing sales volumes is not the main focus. Instead, the aim is to enhance value creation—making each vehicle more profitable rather than merely increasing the number sold. He highlighted Ferrari’s longstanding approach of limiting production to retain exclusivity while generating significant profits.

      “I’m not claiming that 7,000 units is our cap, but we don’t need 13,000 units to excel as a company. There will be growth in volume, but we will also concentrate on improving productivity and the company’s cost structure,” he indicated.

      A Shift Towards Derivatives

      Hallmark stepped into his role at Aston Martin following the launch of four new models in 18 months. He acknowledged that while launching multiple models in a short time was beneficial, it also led to a reduction of 30-40% in capacity due to slowed production. Going forward, Aston Martin will prioritize developing new derivatives of these recent models, akin to Porsche's strategy with the iconic 911.

      “We need to be more realistic about the timelines for these programs,” Hallmark stated. “Derivatives are simpler to produce. For instance, a car may comprise 5,000 parts, and in the case of the Vanquish, about 4,900 were brand new. However, a derivative typically has around 100 new components. Creating a sportier or more luxurious variant adds only marginal complexity. For the core product, 90 to 95 percent of the bill of materials remains unchanged. We’ve moved past the major launch phase, and now we are entering the micro-launch phase.”

      This "micro-launch phase" will feature at least two new iterations of the mid-engined Valhalla. According to Auto News, one is expected to be a convertible, while Hallmark hinted that the other will be “a special edition.”

      One advantage for Aston Martin is the growing number of ultra-wealthy individuals. Hallmark noted that the pool of people capable of affording cars in Aston Martin’s price bracket has risen significantly, with their average wealth quadrupling in the last twenty years. In essence, there are more potential customers than ever ready to invest in a Vanquish or an SUV like the DBX.