Shares in the automaker, whose cars are famously driven by fictional British spy James Bond, fell more than 6 percent. Aston Martin is the first originally-British automaker to sell shares in years.
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/A. Pezzali
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Aston Martin failed to impress investors on its market debut in London on Wednesday with shares in the carmaker falling as much as 6.5 percent.
The sports car specialists, whose cars have played a starring role in James Bond movies, had priced shares at 19 pounds each, giving it a market capitalization of 4.33 billion pounds ($5.63 billion, €4.88 billion).
The shares in the company opened flat before sliding lower as investors and analysts raised concerns over its ability to deliver on its plans to launch a new model every year from 2016 to 2022.
"[It] has very aggressive growth plans. The execution of that growth needs to be flawless — nothing eats cash more than a car company when the cycle turns. There is concern that it's more cyclical than the commentary has been," said James Congdon, managing director of cashflow returns specialist Quest.
"The banks have done a good job for their client – but there's no bounce."
Turbulent history
Aston Martin has had a checkered past having declared itself bankrupt seven times in its 105 history.
The carmaker made a turnaround under Chief Executive Andy Palmer and last year posted its first profit in nearly a decade.
The automaker is becoming the only one to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is the first nominally British carmaker to sell shares in years. Like other British brands such as Jaguar, Bentley and Rolls Royce, Aston Martin was sold to a foreign car giant, Ford, in the 1990s. Ford cut it loose in 2006 and the company has since changed hands several times.
Aston Martin current shareholders, which include Italian investment firm Investindustrial and a group of Kuwait-based investors, sold a quarter of the company's stock in the share sale. The IPO raised no money for Aston Martin itself.
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes Benz cars, is not selling its nearly 5 percent stake in the company. Mercedes-AMG, the German company's high-performance wing, supplies engines and other key components to Aston Martin.
In 1958, the UK was the second largest car maker in the world after the US, but by 2008 was twelfth. Many firms are now foreign-owned, including by BMW (Mini & Rolls-Royce), TATA (Jaguar & Land Rover) and VW (Bentley).
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W.Hong
Aston Martin: Where two British icons meet
A manufacturer of luxury sports cars since 1913, Aston Martin became a fully-fledged icon with James Bond’s 1964 film "Goldfinger." Bond’s car, the DB5, is often seen as one of the most beautiful in the world and Astons have appeared in six other Bond films. It plans to float on the London Stock Exchange this year. Bankrupt seven times, the company is expected to be valued at around €4.3 billion.
Image: Imago/Cinema Publishers Collection
Jaguar: Still purring
Jaguar is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a multinational car manufacturer headquartered in Coventry and owned by Indian company Tata Motors since 2008. It was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922 and has manufactured cars for the British Prime Minister and also holds royal warrants from Queen Elizabeth II. Ford sold both Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors.
Image: Imago/Sebastian Geisler
Triumph: Not all about winning, but it helps
The Triumph TR6 is a sports car built between 1968 and 1976 with the US market in mind. Some 86,249 of the 94,619 cars built were exported to the US. The TR6 is often regarded with affection by its devotees as the last of the "hairy chested" British two-seat sports convertibles.
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Rolls-Royce: The 'best car in the world'
A survey in 1987 showed that only Coca-Cola was a more widely known brand than Rolls-Royce, a luxury car established in 1904. WWI saw the company branch into aero engines, where it still flourishes. Rolls-Royce faced troubled times after WWII and was nationalized until 1987 when the government sold it to the public. The new Rolls-Royce Phantom starts at about €400,000 ($400,000).
Image: DW
Morris Minor: Quintessentially English
The Morris Minor started production in 1948. Over 1.6 million were made between 1948 and 1972 in three series and it became the first British car to sell over one million units. Some consider it a classic example of automotive design and typifying "Englishness."
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER
Lotus: A thing of brutal beauty
Lotus Cars makes sports cars, including the Esprit, Elan, Europa, Elise, Exige and Evora. Based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a WWII airfield, Lotus builds light weight race and production automobiles. In 2017, Geely took a 51-percent controlling stake in Lotus and the remainder belongs to Etika Automotive. Ex-French Prime Minister Francois Fillon with a 1956 Lotus Elan above.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J.-F. Monier
Range Rover: A modern auto icon
The Land Rover Range Rover (known simply as a Range Rover) is a luxury sport utility vehicle made by Land Rover. The Range Rover was launched in 1970 by British Leyland and the model is now in its fourth generation. Above is the Range Rover Long Wheel Base Autobiographic Black trim model, of which only 25 Vallorie white editions exist in the US and go for $199,000 (€170,000).
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Morgan: Patience is a virtue
The Morgan Motor Company is a family-owned car manufacturer founded in 1910 and based in Malvern Link in Worcestershire. Employing 177 people, Morgan produces 1,300 cars per year, all by hand, with wood used in their construction for over a century. The waiting list to buy a Morgan is about six months and has been as long as ten years.
Image: picture-alliance/HIP/National Motor Museum
Land Rover: The Queen’s ride
Land Rover is a car brand that specializes in four-wheel-drive vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, which has been owned by India's Tata Motors since 2008. The Land Rover is another British icon and was granted a Royal Warrant by King George VI in 1951.
Image: Imago/CTK Photo
London Cab: Hail the master
'Hackney' is derived from the village name Hackney, a part of London. The word was once thought to be an anglicized derivative of French haquenée — a horse of medium size. The first documented hackney coach operated in London in 1621. The New York City colloquial terms "hack" (taxi or taxi-driver), hackstand (taxi stand), and hack license (taxi license) are probably derived from hackney carriage.
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MGB: Sports car personified
The MGB is a two-door sports car manufactured and marketed by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), later British Leyland, first made in 1962.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/H. Galuschka
Mini: Size isn’t everything
In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T and ahead of the Citroën DS and Volkswagen Beetle. The original is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture and influenced a generation of car makers. BMW bought the Rover Group (formerly British Leyland) in 1994 and sold a majority of it in 2000.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Warmuth
Austin: An underrated classic
The Austin Motor Company Limited was a manufacturer of motor vehicles founded in 1905. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limited and the Austin name was used until 1987. The trademark is currently owned by SAIC after being transferred from bankrupt subsidiary Nanjing Automotive which acquired it with MG Rover Group in 2005.
Image: dapd
Bentley: Class on wheels
Bentley Motors Limited is a manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. It has been a subsidiary of Volkswagen since 1998. Headquartered in Crewe, the company was founded in 1919 in London and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, and 2003. Some are assembled at Volkswagen's Dresden factory. Still a signifier of sophistication.
