Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/788859
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2017 Motoring VII MOTORS INC. IS A JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN PATER GROUP, TUM INVEST GROUP & UNITED GROUP. For all your aftersales requirements with regards to any brand represented by MOTORS INC, kindly be advised that our Aftersales Centre is located at Pantar Road Lija, LJA2023. OPENING HOURS. 07:00HRS TILL 16:15HRS CONTACT NUMBER. (+356) 2269 2000 PARTS. PARTS@MOTORSINC.COM.MT SERVICE. SERVICE@MOTORSINC.COM.MT MOTORS INC. GEARED FOR EXCELLENCE. PANTAR ROAD, LIJA, LJA2023, MALTA T. •+356– 2269 2000 E. INFO—MOTORSINC.COM.MT ˜ W. MOTORSINC.COM.MT AFTERSALES. ALL BRANDS UNDER ONE ROOF. Aston Martin expects a return to pro tability in 2018 The money-losing luxury automaker plans to boost revenues with renewed versions of its sports cars LUXURY sports car brand Aston Martin posted a pre-tax loss of €149.2 million in 2015, the fifth consecutive year the company failed to make a profit. In 2106, the company started investing heavily to update existing models and de- velop several new vehicles through the end of 2019, including its first SUV, the DBX, and the Formula 1-inspired AM-RB 001 – the most expensive new car ever built by Aston Martin. "You've got a complete renewal during the course of 2018 of the sports cars," Palmer said this week on the sidelines of the Canadian auto show in Toronto. Unlike other luxury sports car brands, which are part of mass- volume auto groups and can benefit from economies of scale, Aston Martin remains independent, Palmer said. "We have to amortise the R&D costs on a small volume," he said. "That's what justifies the car being expensive." The carbon fibre AM-RB 001, which is being developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies for expected delivery in 2019, is using Canadian composite specialist Mul- timatic as a supplier, Palmer said. All 150 cars have been sold, with another 25 to be manufactured as a separate variant for the track. Palmer said one of Aston Martin's highest volume models will be its DBX SUV, which when delivered in late 2019 would com- pete with the Bentayga produced by Bentley. Pickups and SUVs accounted for 59.5% of US auto sales in 2016, up from 55.8% in 2015, and North American appetite prompted high-end automakers makers such as Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini to come out with new SUV models. Palmer said Aston Martin ex- pects to build between 4,000 and 5,000 SUVs a year. "We don't want to go to big vol- ume," he said. "It's basically high price, low volume, exclusivity." Aston Martin is controlled by Kuwait's Tejara and Italy's Investindustrial. The private equity firms hold an equal voting stake. Daimler has a 5% stake in Aston Martin in return for access to certain technologies for connected and autonomous cars. CEO Andy Palmer stands next to the AM-RB 001 at the Canadian auto show.