I am talking about Aston Martin, of course. Hard to imagine that the ultimate rescue vehicle for 007 is now itself in need of rescuing. I was quite surprised by the news that Aston Martin is in financial trouble and that its Q2 2026 earnings were very disappointing. I wonder why this should be, and since I have written a lot about JLR’s corporate brand strategy and campaign as well as brand strategies and campaigns for Land Rover and Jaguar separately, I thought I might turn my attention to Aston Martin. Yet another iconic carmaker from Britain that is known for ultra-luxury cars and sports supercars.
Not only were Aston Martin’s corporate earnings poor in the last quarter, the company is said to be deep in debt and there are reports that Aston Martin was even in need of £500 million financial assistance, which it has now received but at a price. You would think that a supercar maker would be profitable even in economic downturns, so this situation is quite puzzling.
On the face of it, it appears that Aston Martin might be symptomatic of what ails industrial Britain, although one doesn’t mean to be glib about it or rush to conclusions. It seems that Aston Martin has relied on its past glory for too long and hasn’t perhaps invested as much as it should have in new automotive technologies, including digital. Considering how much Chinese EVs are disrupting the luxury car segment – which I write about in the strategy and ideas document for Aston Martin – it is imperative that even supercar makers remain at the forefront of automotive technology.
British automotive engineering once stood for the highest standards in design, engineering and luxury around the world. And even when the Italians and Germans started to make inroads into the industry, certain iconic British carmakers held their own thanks to their deep understanding of automotive engineering, the experience of catering to royalty and the aristocratic classes, and their attention to detail, especially when it came to handcrafted excellence. This special place that British automotive engineering has held in the annals of history has faded over the past many decades, and is now left to a few car brands and companies. In the category of serious sports cars, Aston Martin holds a very special place along with McLaren and they should not let it go.
The main aspect that British car companies have to focus on now and in the years ahead is technology. I have always believed that there is a subtle and important difference between engineering and technology in the automotive space and that it is the latter that is gaining more importance. Traditionally, the British, Italian and German carmakers have focused on luxury, and therefore the engineering that helps to deliver this smooth driving experience to customers. Technological developments were more strongly associated with American and Japanese carmakers. Now, the Chinese have entered the arena and are taking the world by storm with their EVs, as well as with their innovations in autonomous driving. Self-driving cars and robotaxis are said to be operating in some Chinese cities. But even besides this special segment of cars, I think the Chinese are bringing certain elements of autonomous driving to ADAS features that are available in most cars nowadays.
I happened to see a video on LinkedIn that showcased some of this: autonomous car-parking by the vehicle after the driver has stepped out of the vehicle. I hope it was not a deep-fake AI video that was circulating on LinkedIn. On a serious note, though, it is likely, therefore, that a whole lot of innovations in autonomous driving will make their way into regular cars, including EVs, without them having to be fully-autonomous vehicles. Another related area ripe for innovations is in automation systems, something that has been overlooked for cars even though it has been part of defence equipment as well as commercial aviation for several decades.
Aston Martin, with its rich history and heritage of automotive engineering, has its task cut out. To make the Aston Martin brand truly competitive and future-oriented, the company will have to invest heavily in technology and in innovations. I think that Aston Martin will also have to reduce its association with James Bond, the fictional spy character of Ian Fleming novels, even if it helped the brand in previous decades. I think it is now hurting the brand image and the Company will do well to focus on other kinds of brand associations. The Company must leverage the several strengths which it has, as well as add new capabilities in the areas of automotive and digital technology. You may read my thoughts on the new brand strategy and ideas I recommend for Aston Martin in the document below.
The most important thing is to innovate and add new technology features that differentiate meaningfully, and to communicate this in a distinctive manner through communication. I think that Aston Martin could reduce the numbers of models and variants, while increasing their high-tech features and also the pricing. Some of the Aston Martin models suffer from underpricing, which has a direct effect on profitability.
Based on my new brand strategy for Aston Martin, I have also created a print campaign for the brand which you may read below. The TV/video advertisements’ scripts are in the main strategy and ideas document. As I say in that document, the print campaign is meant to focus on Aston Martin’s approach to building their supercars.
The other area that Aston Martin needs to focus on is diversifying its business beyond just making supercars. They could do this in two ways: a) innovate to bring new automotive technologies to the market, such as flying cars, solar-powered cars, hydrogen fuel-cell cars, and the like; b) venture into an adjacent area of transport such as executive jets, which is likely to bring in new additional revenue quicker.
I read on Aston Martin’s website that the company has tied up with Airbus to fit out its helicopters, though this appeared to be only the interiors. Instead, if Aston Martin were to develop entire executive jets for example, that are cost-effective and sustainable, it would help fulfill a need that seems to be only growing. The progression from motor cars would also be logical and natural under the company’s winged symbol. Alternatively, and/or additionally, Aston Martin could even consider launching an executive jet service within UK and on transatlantic routes. The advantage of diversifying in this manner is that it helps provide an additional revenue stream through a profitable business for which the need exists, as well as helping the core supercar automotive business through the right innovations and the desired brand image associations.
I read about the company’s various partnerships with a motorcycling brand as well as a cycling brand, and although I had never heard of the brands, I wondered if these were good allocation of energies, resources and time. Much better to stay focused on the kinds of diversification that are likely to bring in growth and strengthen the Aston Martin brand. In addition, I have also recommended that Aston Martin consider rebranding their bespoke customization service currently called Q, as well as think of an appropriate branding for an Aston Martin Owners’ Club that they ought to create.
This new brand strategy aims to set the Aston Martin supercar brand on the path to growth in a new direction that focuses on its engineering strengths as well as technological prowess which they must keep adding to their brand in the months and years to come.
Time has come to imagine an Aston Martin sans 007, aka James Bond.
The images used in the Aston Martin print campaign layouts are from Unsplash and Aston Martin’s website and I am thankful to them. Aston Martin does not have a media gallery on their site for images, so I had to download them as web pictures and then have them converted online to regular images. The Aston Martin logo is from Wikimedia Commons.
The featured image at the start of this post is of the Aston Martin Vanquish and is from the company’s website.
Post script: Just day before yesterday, a Google notification was pushed to me regarding a new launch from Aston Martin, which means someone is busy guessing that I was working on the Aston Martin brand. This new supercar called Valen has been announced by Aston Martin and you can read more about it here. While I am glad that they are launching a new supercar with high-end pricing, I am not sure if the vehicle looks supercar enough to justify the high price. I also don’t care much for the duo or tri-tone colour, which seems to be a way to cover for their depiction of Valour on the company website. Valour’s depiction already seems like Perfect Relations’ idiot bosses’ meddling and doing mischief punning on Valerie Pinto who was their COO in Mumbai.
All this seems to suggest that unprofessional PR agency idiots are already meddling at Aston Martin and I have nothing to do with them, nor do they have anything to do with my work.
Peripatetic Perch 