Filed under: Sports/GTs, Supercars, Aston Martin, Ford, Earnings/Financials
Scoop: Louis Vuitton buys Aston Martin
All the bids are in and the winning bidder has been revealed: Aston Martin is being bought by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the French luxury goods consortium that produces upper-crust products ranging from leather trunks and wallets to champagne and cognac...and now exotic luxury sports cars, too.
In placing the highest bid, Louis Vuitton beat out some serious contenders, including consortia led by Aston's current boss, billionaire moguls and numerous heavy-hitting investment firms.
Ford Motor Company will reportedly retain 15% interest in Aston Martin when Louis Vuitton takes over. Although both Ford PAG and Louis Vuitton declined to comment to DowJones MarketWatch, the media outlet that broke the story, German car mag Autobild will be running the story tomorrow (Friday).
While there has been a history of fashion labels and automakers collaborating on special editions – including Aston Martin and Dunhill – the purchase of a stoic marque like Aston Martin is pioneering new ground, although Louis Vuitton does have an established history in sponsoring concours d'elegance.
Gold and brown DB9, anyone?
UPDATE: Motor Trend is reporting that the published reports regarding a sale to LVMH are inaccurate.Related Posts:
- Did you get your bid in? Auction closed for sale of Aston Martin
- Ford tells bidders Aston will earn $109 million
- Aston Martin sale imminent
- Aussies make bid for Aston Martin
[Source: MarketWatch]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
rrr 8:13PM (2/01/2007)
I guess it makes sence. But wouldn't it make sence for Ford to make a partnership with LVMH or Gucci or Chanel to desighn the interior while Ford took care of engines.
But i am kind of happy it happened, look at what Ford did to Jaguar, they killed that car. They turned a classic into Tourus look alike. Look at what they did to Lincoln................shame
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yumyum 8:29PM (2/01/2007)
The French? Yes, they do produce some quality luxury goods. But, when it comes to automobiles...uhmmm.
Citroen? Peugeot?
NO!!!!!!
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chuck goolsbee 8:32PM (2/01/2007)
If Ford is willing to sell AM, why can't they offload Jaguar alone, instead of insisting it be bundled with Land Rover? They had a willing buyer in Sir Anthony Bamford:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/24/jcb-owner-considers-purchase-of-jaguar/
--chuck
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Sam 8:40PM (2/01/2007)
this has to be the worst decision ever. A British car company given to THE FRENCH!? Louis Vuitton is a worn out brand, one whose name is overused in the US. May god have mercy on Aston Martin's soul for what the kooky french are going to do to the brand. You just watch, give it a few years and all that time, money and reconstruction Ford put into Aston Martin will be wasted, utterly wasted. what a shame.
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B-noit 8:40PM (2/01/2007)
Wow. I'm a little shocked. Eager to see what will come of this... And I really hope it all works out, because as much as Ford has done a terrible job with Jaguar and Lincoln, they definitely proved themselves with Land Rover's turn-around and even moreso with Aston Martin. I wish Louis Vuitton and Aston Martin all the best.
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chuck goolsbee 8:41PM (2/01/2007)
oh, #2, the French actually have a rich Automotive history... Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, etc. Not to mention some nice contemporary machines. Last time I was in Europe I rented a VERY nice Citroen C6, and when I lived in the UK (97-98) my Volvo 440TD had an excellent Peugeot-built turbo-Diesel engine... which is STILL running today (I converse regularly with the guy near Bristol who bought it from me.)
I do agree that it will seem bizarre to see an Aston-Martin legitimately wearing French Blue instead of British Racing Green. I wonder if Sir David Brown is rotating in his grave at the moment?
--chuck
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Gavin 8:42PM (2/01/2007)
Great! Last year it was the bag...now my wife is going to want an Aston!
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BOB 8:46PM (2/01/2007)
I was a little surprised, but this company wants to be the main purveyor of luxury goods to the world. They own a number of the top design houses in France, the US, Spain, and Italy, plus Tag Heuer, store chains, and more. No doubt Aston is a luxury product, and I doubt it will be ruined.
Ford did not need such a small company: perhaps its size kept them from doing the meddling I suspect they did to Jaguar.
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Patrick 9:09PM (2/01/2007)
Actually, they turned the Taurus in to a Jaguar look alike, but now the new XK looks like a Taurus coupe.....at least they didn't butcher the brand like GM did to Saab!
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jamey 9:11PM (2/01/2007)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
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DiedFamous 9:23PM (2/01/2007)
Noooooooo! They'll fire all of the race engineers and bring in the gay interior designers! They'll put cars on display at fashion shows! Its the end of Aston as we know it!
...Or not, but still, I would have rathered the Arab prince/oil baron had won it, those guys are the embodyment of hoondage.
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chris 9:27PM (2/01/2007)
I don't see why people see this as being bad. The only changes in the cars will probably be no more Ford/Volvo interior parts and perhaps they can make their own engines or even give Cosworth something to do now that they're out of F1.
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Jeff Banks 9:40PM (2/01/2007)
Jag sedans share power-door lock motors with the Fusion! The image of the company must be tarnished!
A couple people have bitched about Ford killing Jaguar, but plain and simply Jaguar would NOT exist today if they weren't for a massive cash inflow from Ford.
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rrr 9:43PM (2/01/2007)
#4 "May god have mercy on Aston Martin's soul for what the kooky french are going to do to the brand"
Dude Ford did not do anything for this brand, Ford made profit only ONCE with Aston Martin, look at what those kooky Ford people did to Jaguar and Lincoln and Land Rover (quality--WORST in USA...by far).....heck the COE of the company was so bad he had to hire a guy who has less car experience than i do. Ford is on its deathbed, it is the best thing Ford could have done for AM, because i am sure Ford was very close to making a AM PickUp truck or an SUV
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DJ 10:02PM (2/01/2007)
I question the validity of this story, given that the bidding period ended literally hours ago. Yes, at first blush LVMH may have what appears to be the highest bid, but a lot depends on conditions of that bid, especially since Ford is keeping a 15% stake in AM. Their bid may be heavily leveraged, mostly stock or other considerations that may make it less attractive than a lower bid.
By the way, there's no indication that Ford's board has met or plans to meet this week to even OK a particular bidder.....
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G 10:03PM (2/01/2007)
rrr: Land Rover already had the worst quality in the USA, and Jaguar actually improved under Ford's ownership. I am in no way a supporter of Ford, but you must note that European cars are of much worse quality than American.
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rrr 10:06PM (2/01/2007)
HEY EVERYONE LOOK AT HOW GOOD FORD IS DOING
JANUARY AUTO SALES
Ford, GM post big sales drops
Toyota Motor outsells Ford
Dale Jewett | | Automotive News / February 1, 2007 - 1:58 pm / UPDATED: 2/1/2007 5:47 P.M.
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. and DaimlerChrysler outsold Ford Motor Co. in January, as Ford Motor’s U.S. sales dropped 19.0 percent from the same month a year earlier. The drop put Ford in fourth place for the month.
Overall, U.S. auto sales in January lagged the year-ago month. With only Mazda North American Operations yet to report, U.S. auto sales in January totaled 1,072,047 units, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier.
Combined U.S. sales for the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands totaled 175,850 units in January, up 9.5 percent from a year ago.
Meanwhile, Ford Motor’s U.S. sales in January totaled 165,688 units. On Wednesday, Jan. 31, Ford had warned that its January sales would be down about 20 percent, citing a reduction in lower-profit sales to rental fleets.
It was not the first month that Toyota Motor surpassed Ford Motor in U.S. sales. But it gave Toyota a lead in a year in which many analysts expect Toyota will top Ford Motor in U.S. sales and overtake GM globally.
Ford, which is racing to cut jobs and close plants as its market share declines, said its retail sales had declined by about 5 percent in the month.
Sales of its market-leading F-series pickups were down 15 percent in January.
“We are focused on getting this business back to profitability, full stop,” Ford's chief sales analyst George Pipas said. “Where we are in sales races and rankings or where people forecast we are going to be is a distraction we are not going to be bothered with.”
DaimlerChrysler ranked third in U.S. sales for the month. The Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler group brands sold a combined 173,396 units in January, up 3.2 percent from January 2006.
But the Chrysler group plans to cut first-quarter production by a "significant" margin, spokesman Jason Vines said. Chrysler is scheduled to announce a restructuring plan Feb. 14.
Chrysler, which led the industry in estimated incentive spending in January, today rolled out a new program of "value coupons" for dealers to offer buyers in addition to cash rebates on many models including the Dodge Charger sedan and Magnum wagon.
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rrr 10:08PM (2/01/2007)
REST OF PREVIOUS ARTICLE
Closing on the leader
General Motors was the top-ranked automaker in U.S. sales for the month. It posted sales of 244,614 units in January, a 16.6 percent drop from January 2006. GM says it also is dialing back sales to rental fleets.
GM posted higher sales for its recently introduced pickups in January. Retail sales of the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups were up 7 percent in the month, the company said.
GM trimmed its planned first-quarter production in North America by 3.6 percent from its plan of a month earlier, cutting expected output by 40,000 units to 1.08 million.
GM said it was making the production cut in conjunction with an earlier announced move away from lower-margin fleet sales and a need to manage inventories.
“For us it was not a great sales month, but we’re doing OK, and more importantly we continue to execute according to plan,” said Paul Ballew, GM's chief sales analyst.
Toyota Motor is eating into GM’s U.S. sales lead. One year ago, GM led Toyota Motor in U.S. sales by 132,506 units. In January, GM’s lead over Toyota was sliced almost in half to 68,764 units.
Toyota’s sales rise marked its 20th consecutive monthly sales gain and reflected strong sales of its cars, including the Toyota Camry, Lexus ES 350 and Lexus LS 460.
January also was a strong month for American Honda Motor Co. Combined U.S. sales of the Honda and Acura brands rose 2.4 percent from a year ago to 100,790 units -- a record for the month, the automaker said.
American Honda said sales for the month were driven by redesigned versions of its SUVs -- the Honda CR-V, and the Acura MDX and RDX.
Nissan North America’s U.S. sales totaled 82,644 in January, up 8.9 percent up from a year ago.
Audi sets record
A record month for Audi helped propel the Volkswagen group’s U.S. sales to 23,251 units in January, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier.
Audi of America said its U.S. sales totaled 6,399 units in January, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier, setting a record for the month. It credited the A4 sedan and the Q7 SUV for the gains. U.S. sales for the Volkswagen brand were up 2.3 percent to 16,610 units, the automaker said.
January was a positive month for American Suzuki Motor Corp. Its sales of 8,179 were up 13.4 percent from January 2006.
But U.S. sales declined in January for Porsche Cars North America and Subaru of America.
Porsche’s U.S. sales fell 7.7 percent from a year ago to 2,984 units in January.
Subaru started the year with U.S. sales of 12,074 units, down 2.5 percent from a year earlier.
Reuters contributed to this report.
You may e-mail Dale Jewett at djewett@crain.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan. Jan. Pct. 1 mos. 1 mos. Pct.
2007 2006 chng. 2007 2006 chng.
BMW* 21,845 22,250 –1.8% 21,845 22,250 –1.8%
DaimlerChrysler** 173,396 167,956 3.2% 173,396 167,956 3.2%
Ford Motor Co.*** 165,688 204,523 –19.0% 165,688 204,523 –19.0%
General Motors**** 244,614 293,131 –16.6% 244,614 293,131 –16.6%
American Honda† 100,790 98,394 2.4% 100,790 98,394 2.4%
Hyundai Group†† 50,245 48,318 4.0% 50,245 48,318 4.0%
Isuzu 500 708 –29.4% 500 708 –29.4%
Mazda – – –% – – –%
Mitsubishi 9,383 7,469 25.6% 9,383 7,469 25.6%
Nissan††† 82,644 75,891 8.9% 82,644 75,891 8.9%
Porsche 2,984 3,232 –7.7% 2,984 3,232 –7.7%
Subaru 12,074 12,384 –2.5% 12,074 12,384 –2.5%
Suzuki 8,179 7,210 13.4% 8,179 7,210 13.4%
Toyota‡ 175,850 160,625 9.5% 175,850 160,625 9.5%
VW‡‡ 23,251 22,530 3.2% 23,251 22,530 3.2%
Other (estimate) 604 553 9.2% 604 553 9.2%
TOTAL 1,072,047 1,125,174 –4.7% 1,050,202 1,102,924 –4.7%
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Accordsforall 10:19PM (2/01/2007)
Hmmm
I never thought.. Louis Vutton would HAVE the kind of money to purchase.. A CAR company. I never had a thing for Aston Martin.. but being sold to Vutton... cant be good. Heck.. I bet Vutton will spend a boat load of dough on contracting to update the cars.
As for the french not knowing what they are doing.. I got news for ya the Citroen DS / SM / CX are some of the finest cars in this world. Just because they havent sold cars in the US in 20yrs.. doesnt mean their designs arent at the top of their league. They are definately a step above the common GERMAN CRAP AKA BMW / AUDI / M-B.
But this doesnt at all mean.. VUTTON should have any doings at all.. with ASTON MARTIN.
Life as we know it.. has changed.
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huis 10:24PM (2/01/2007)
This kind of worries me as far as the engineering and cost side of Aston Martin is concerned. In recent years, they have had a huge improvement in terms of what they were able to offer and how competitive their vehicles could be in price, performance, styling, and prestige. How will they do on their own now without Ford, or will their engineering side still be strongly linked with Ford?
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