Ford to flog Aston Martin
Newswheel staff :: 01 September 2006 :: Filed under Aston Martin, Ford, Europe & UK, US
[Click on an image to view]
Blue Oval hits the buffers?
Ford is planning to offload Aston Martin in an attempt to free up funds
for other brands. So says none other than Bill Ford, the Blue Oval’s eponymous head
honcho. Ford reckons the money raised will offset the costs of the
company’s accelerated Way Forward programme including job cuts and
factory closures…
It’s not known exactly how much Aston Martin is likely to fetch. Estimates range from a a few hundred million pounds to $2 billion. But regardless of the brand’s recent success (4,500 Astons found homes in 2005) it remains a niche outfit and much smaller than other members of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, including Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo. As S&P equity analyst told Reuters news agency regarding the sale of AM, Ford “"spent billions of dollars to acquire [those other brands] and got disappointing returns. Aston Martin is a lot smaller and not the first expected choice."
Happy days: FoMoCo’s fearless leader, Bill Ford
Of course, the context of the Aston Martin announcement is Ford’s continuing poor performance. Overall sales for Ford Motor Company continue to bore for the earth’s core, down by around 10 per cent in the first seven months of ’06 alone. Ford has also lost a terrifying $1.44 billion in the first half of this year.
As for the future of Jaguar and Land Rover, His Fordness would not be drawn. “Regarding our other Premier Automotive Group brands, we’ve made no decisions, as our review of strategic alternatives continues. However, we continue to be encouraged by Jaguar’s progress and by the strength and consumer appeal of the Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo product lineups,” quothe he.
Linkage:
Reuters
Posted 17 January 2007, by Puffy
http://levitra--faq3.blogspot.com
http://orderviagra--guide4.blogspot.com
http://dani-mybloglife.blogspot.com
http://order-phentermine4you.blogspot.com