ASTON MARTIN PLC

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PROJECT REPORT
ON
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
OF
ASTON MARTIN

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INDEX
S.No. TOPIC PAGE NO.
1 Acknowledgement 1
2 Introduction 3
3 Literature Review 5
4 Product Life Cycle 8
5 International Product Life Cycle
5.1 Stages of IPLC
5.2 Pros
5.3 Cons
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13
15
16
6 Aston Martin
6.1 About The Company
6.2 Evolution of the icon
6.3 IPLC of Aston Martin
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18
20-25
7 Conclusion 26
8 Latest News of Aston Martin 27
9 Bibliography 28

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INTRODUCTION
The international product life cycle is a theoretical model describing how an industry evolves
over time and across national borders. This theory also charts the development of a
company’s marketing program when competing on both domestic and foreign fronts.
International product life cycle concepts combine economic principles, such as market
development and economies of scale, with product life cycle marketing and other standard
business models .The four primary elements of the international product life cycle theory are:
the structure of the demand for the product, manufacturing, international competition and
marketing strategies, and the marketing strategy of the company that invented or innovated
the product. These elements are categorized depending on the product’s stage in the
traditional product life cycle. Introduction, growth, maturity, and decline are the stages of the
basic product life cycle.
In 1966, Raymond Vernon published a model that described internationalization patterns of
organizations. He looked at how U.S. companies developed into multinational corporations
(MNCs) at a time when these firms dominated global trade, and per capita income in the U.S.
was, by far, the highest of all the developed countries.
Vernon focused on the dynamics of comparative advantage and drew inspiration from the
product life cycle to explain how trade patterns change over time.
His IPLC described an internationalization process wherein a local manufacturer in an
advanced country (Vernon regarded the United States of America as the principle source of
inventions) begins selling a new, technologically advanced product to high-come consumers
in its home market. Production capabilities build locally to stay in close contact with its
clientele and to minimize risk and uncertainty. As demand from consumers in other markets
rises, production increasingly shifts abroad enabling the firm to maximize economies of scale
and to bypass trade barriers. As the product matures and becomes more of a commodity, the
number of competitors increases. In the end, the innovator from the advanced nation
becomes challenged in its own home market making the advanced nation a net importer of
the product. This product is produced either by competitors in lesser developed countries or,

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if the innovator has developed into a multinational manufacturer, by its foreign based
production facilities.
Many products follow a predictable pattern in international trade. Understanding the
international product life cycle may lead to improved policies resulting in increased exports
and a reduction in the effectiveness of import competition.

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LITERATURE REVIEW
Some evolving observations about International product Life Cycle:
The International Product Life Cycle is an attractive concept, but one which the common
consensus is that it has some descriptive value, but rather limited or non-existent prescriptive
value.
Based on a review of research evidence published since 1975, it is suggested that three areas
need to be explored and expanded. The first is a careful reexamination of the foundation of
the concept, then there needs to be a focus on the product life cycle as a dependent variable,
and third, there is a need from application of meta-theory criteria to guide future research.
International product life cycle has the potential to play a central, if not the central role in our
quest to develop a solid theory based foundation for marketing practice. Furthermore, it
seems possible, to speculate, that, if properly documented through research, the IPLC could
become a powerful predictive concept. Hopefully, this would lead to more efficient
allocation of resources, but at the very least, result in outcomes having higher probabilities of
success.
Hofer (1975, p. 798) argues that "the most fundamental variable in determining an
appropriate business strategy is the stage of the international product life cycle."
Likewise, Biggadike (1981) identified the international product life cycle as one of the five
major contributions that marketing has made to strategic management.
Michael Porter (1980, p. 157) recognizes the international product life cycle as "the
grandfather of concepts for predicting the probable course of industry evolution."Most would
agree with Day in his 1981 review of the product life cycle:
There is a tremendous ambivalence toward the international product life cycle concept within
marketing. On one hand, the concept has an enduring appeal because of the intuitive logic of
the product birth > growth > maturity > decline > rebirth sequence based on a biological
analogy. As such, it has considerable descriptive value when used as a systematic framework

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for explaining market dynamics. However, the simplicity of the international product life
cycle concept makes it vulnerable to criticism, especially when it is used as a predictive
model for anticipating when changes will occur and one stage will succeed another, or as a
normative model which attempts to prescribe what alternative strategies should be considered
at each stage. (Day 1981, p. 60)
Muhs (1985) interviewed Jones in 1982 and reports that "the mortality curve, product
evolution, and profit time relationships were all probably the basis for the international
product life cycle... but that he did remember dreaming up some of the ideas and jargon."
Muhs also reports that Otto Kleppner (1931) conceptualized an antecedent of the
International Product Life Cycle in his classic text, Advertising Procedure. He suggested that
most products pass-through the stages of "pioneering", "competitive", and"retentitive"
(Kleppner 1931, p. 5)
Rink and Swan (1979) in their review of the literature identified eleven different product life
cycles. One of the more extensive to be published to data is that of Meenaghan and Turnbull
(1981). As part of an empirical investigation of the applicability of the Product Life Cycle to
“Popular Record Marketing,” they review the theory with its attendant problems.
The International Product Life Cycle literature is varied and diverse. The earlier literature
tends to be more optimistic about the usefulness of the concept while the more recent
literature is concerned about its limitations, but also with developing a better understanding
of the concept through empirical research.
Weakness & Criticisms:
The International Product Life Cycle has been criticized by a number of writers, for a variety
of reasons. Of course, some of the criticisms are more fundamental than others. The
criticisms seem to fall into the following categories: - level of aggregation It is not clear
whether the concept is most appropriate for product class, product form or brand.
Tellis and Crawford (1981, p. 126) suggest that "authors generally feel that product forms
bear the closest approximation to the IPLC, individual brands are difficult to model, and
patterns at the level of product class are less apparent because of the longer sales trends

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involved. " However, Polli and Cook(1969) report being able to identify separate life cycles
for product class, product form and brand for cigarettes.- self-fulfilling prophecy Dhalla and
Yuspeh (1976) cite evidence that suggests for consumer goods, their decline is not inevitable.
The belief that goods will decline often leads to premature cutbacks in marketing and
advertising support according to Dhalla and Yuspeh which leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy
of decline. They argue that in many cases appropriate use of advertising and other marketing
tools can prevent the decline stage. Cannon (1978, p. 238)
Tallis and Crawford (1981, p. 131) feel strongly that, "the death stage of the PLC need never
be accepted as certain except when all other innovative modifications fail to provide a
profitable alternative, as in the special case of fad and fashion products."
And then there is the belief supposedly held by Proctor and Gamble that the International
Product Life Cycle does not exist.- not a model Hunt argues that the typical explanation of
the International Product Life Cycle is "vacuous" because, in essence, "if the level of sales
determines the stage of the life cycle, then the stage in the life cycle cannot be used to
explain the level of sales." (Hunt 1983, p. 131)

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PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
“The product life cycle is an attempt to recognize distinct stages in sales history of the
product.”
- Philip Kotler
Product life cycle is the historical study of (sales of) the product. It includes when it was
introduced; when it was getting rapid acceptance; when it was on the peak of its position;
when it started falling from the peak; and when it disappeared. Product passes through
certain stages during its life span. The theory of a product life cycle was first introduced in
the 1950s to explain the expected life cycle of a typical product from design to obsolescence,
a period divided into the phases of product introduction, product growth, maturity, and
decline. The goal of managing a product's life cycle is to maximize its value and profitability
at each stage. Life cycle is primarily associated with marketing theory.
Typically, it passes through four stages as listed below:
1. INTRODUCTION:
This is the stage where a product is conceptualized and first brought to market. The goal of
any new product introduction is to meet consumers' needs with a quality product at the
lowest possible cost in order to return the highest level of profit. The introduction of a new
product can be broken down into five distinct parts:
 Idea validation
 Conceptual design
 Specification and design
 Prototype and testing
 Manufacturing ramp-up

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Techniques used to exploit early stages make use of penetration pricing (low pricing for rapid
establishment) as well as "skimming," pricing high initially and then lowering price after the
"early acceptors" have been lured in.
2. GROWTH:
The growth phase occurs when a product has survived its introduction and is beginning to be
noticed in the marketplace. At this stage, a company can decide if it wants to go for increased
market share or increased profitability. This is the boom time for any product. Production
increases, leading to lower unit costs. Sales momentum builds as advertising campaigns
target mass media audiences instead of specialized markets (if the product merits this).
Competition grows as awareness of the product builds. Minor changes are made as more
feedback is gathered or as new markets are targeted. The goal for any company is to stay in
this phase as long as possible.
3. MATURITY (INCLUDING SATURATION ) :
Sales rise, but at the decreasing rate. Saturation is marked with stable sales. At the maturity
stage, sales growth has started to slow and is approaching the point where the inevitable
decline will begin. Defending market share becomes the chief concern, as marketing staffs
have to spend more and more on promotion to entice customers to buy the product.
Additionally, more competitors have stepped forward to challenge the product at this stage,
some of which may offer a higher-quality version of the product at a lower price. This can
touch off price wars, and lower prices mean lower profits, which will cause some companies
to drop out of the market for that product altogether. The maturity stage is usually the longest
of the four life cycle stages, and it is not uncommon for a product to be in the mature stage
for several decades.

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4. DECLINE:
It is the stage when sales start falling. This occurs when the product peaks in the maturity
stage and then begins a downward slide in sales. Eventually, revenues will drop to the point
where it is no longer economically feasible to continue making the product. Investment is
minimized. The product can simply be discontinued, or it can be sold to another company. A
third option that combines those elements is also sometimes seen as viable, but comes to
fruition only rarely. Under this scenario, the product is discontinued and stock is allowed to
dwindle to zero, but the company sells the rights to supporting the product to another
company, which then becomes responsible for servicing and maintaining the product.

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INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
The international product life cycle is a theoretical model describing how an industry evolves
over time and across national borders. This theory also charts the development of a
company’s marketing program when competing on both domestic and foreign fronts.
International product life cycle concepts combine economic principles, such as market
development and economies of scale, with product life cycle marketing and other standard
business models.
The four primary elements of the international product life cycle theory are: the structure of
the demand for the product, manufacturing, international competition and marketing strategy,
and the marketing strategy of the company that invented or innovated the product. These
elements are categorized depending on the product’s stage in the traditional product life
cycle. Introduction, growth, maturity, and decline are the stages of the basic product life
cycle.
During the introduction stage, the product is new and not completely understood by most
consumers. Customers that do understand the product may be willing to pay a higher price
for a cutting-edge good or service. Production is dependent on skilled laborers producing in
short runs with rapidly changing manufacturing methods. The innovator markets mostly
domestically, occasionally branching out to sell the product to consumers in other developed
countries.
International competition is usually nonexistent during the introduction stage of the
international product life cycle, but during the growth stage competitors in developed
markets begin to copy the product and sell domestically. These competitors may also branch
out and begin exporting, often starting with the county that initially innovated the product.
The growth stage is also marked by an emerging product standard based on mass production.
Price wars often begin as the innovator breaks into an increasing amount of developed
countries, introducing the product to new and untapped markets.
At some point, the product enters the maturity stage of the international product life cycle
and even the global marketplace becomes saturated, meaning that almost everyone who
would buy the product has bought it, either from the innovating company or one of its

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competitors. Businesses compete for the remaining consumers through lowered prices and
advanced product features. Production is stable, with a focus on cost-cutting manufacturing
methods, so that lowered prices may be passed on to value-conscious consumers.
Product innovators must guard both foreign and domestic markets from international
competition, while finally breaking into riskier developing markets in search of new
customers. When the product reaches the decline stage, the innovators may move production
into these developing countries in an effort to boost sales and keep costs low. During decline,
the product may become obsolete in most developed countries, or the price is driven so low
that the market becomes close to 100% saturated.
When a product is first introduced in a particular country, it sees rapid growth in sales
volume because market demand is unsatisfied. As more people who want the product buy it,
demand and sales level off. When demand has been satisfied, product sales decline to the
level required for product replacement. In international markets, the product life cycle
accelerates due to the presence of "follower" economies that rarely introduce new
innovations but quickly imitate the successes of others. They introduce low-cost versions of
the new product and precipitate a faster market saturation and decline.

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STAGES OF INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
The international product life cycle theory consists of three stages:
1. NEW PRODUCT
The IPLC begins when a company in a developed country wants to exploit a technological
breakthrough by launching a new, innovative product on its home market. Such a market is
more likely to start in a developed nation because more high-income consumers are able to
buy and are willing to experiment with new, expensive products (low price elasticity).
Furthermore, easier access to capital markets exists to fund new product development.
Production is also more likely to start locally in order to minimize risk and uncertainty: “a
location in which communication between the markets and the executives directly concerned
with the new product is swift and easy, and in which a wide variety of potential types of
input that might be needed by the production units are easily come by”.
Export to other industrial countries may occur at the end of this stage that allows the
innovator to increase revenue and to increase the downward descent of the product’s
experience curve. Other advanced nations have consumers with similar desires and incomes
making exporting the easiest first step in an internationalization effort. Competition comes
from a few local or domestic players that produce their own unique product variations.
2. MATURING PRODUCT
Exports to markets in advanced countries further increase through time making it
economically possible and sometimes politically necessary to start local production. The
product’s design and production process becomes increasingly stable. Foreign direct
investments (FDI) in production plants drive down unit cost because labor cost and
transportation cost decrease. Offshore production facilities are meant to serve local markets
that substitute exports from the organization’s home market. Production still requires high-
skilled, high paid employees. Competition from local firms jump start in these non-domestic
advanced markets. Export orders will begin to come from countries with lower incomes.

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3. STANDARDISED PRODUCT
During this phase, the principal markets become saturated. The innovator's original
comparative advantage based on functional benefits has eroded. The firm begins to focus on
the reduction of process cost rather than the addition of new product features. As a result, the
product and its production process become increasingly standardized. This enables further
economies of scale and increases the mobility of manufacturing operations. Labour can start
to be replaced by capital. “If economies of scale are being fully exploited, the principal
difference between any two locations is likely to be labour costs”. To counter price
competition and trade barriers or simply to meet local demand, production facilities will
relocate to countries with lower incomes. As previously in advanced nations, local
competitors will get access to first hand information and can start to copy and sell the
product.
The demand of the original product in the domestic country dwindles from the arrival of new
technologies, and other established markets will have become increasingly price-sensitive.
Whatever market is left becomes shared between competitors who are predominately foreign.
A MNC will internally maximize “offshore” production to low-wage countries since it can
move capital and technology around, but not labour. As a result, the domestic market will
have to import relatively capital intensive products from low income countries. The machines
that operate these plants often remain in the country where the technology was first invented.

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PROS:
1. The model helps organizations that are beginning their international expansion or are
carrying products that initially require experimentation to understand how the
competitive playground changes over time and how their internal workings need to be
refitted. The model can be used for product planning purposes in international
marketing.
2. New product development in a country does not occur by chance. A country must
have a ready market, an able industrial capability and enough capital or labour to
make a new product flourish. No two countries exist with identical local market
conditions. Countries with high per capita incomes foster newly invented products.
Countries with lower per capita incomes will focus on adapting existing products to
create lower priced versions.
3. The IPLC model was widely adopted as the explanation of the ways industries
migrated across borders over time, e.g. the textile industry. Furthermore, Vernon was
able to explain the logic of an advanced, high income country such as the USA that
exports slightly more labour-intensive goods than those that are subject to
competition from abroad.
4. According to Vernon, most managers are “myopic”. Production is only moved
outside the home market when a “triggering event” occurs that threatens export such
as a new local competitor or new trade tariffs. Managers act when the threat has
become greater than the risk in or uncertainty from reallocating operations abroad.
5. The model’s validity was proved by empirical evidence from the teletransmission
equipment industry in the post-war years. The model is best applied to consumer-
oriented physical products based on a new technology at a time when functionality
supersedes cost considerations and satisfies a universal need.

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CONS:
1. Vernon’s main assumption was that the diffusion process of a new technology occurs
slowly enough to generate temporary differences between countries in their access
and use of new technologies. By the late 1970’s, he recognized that this assumption
was no longer valid. Income differences between advanced nations had dropped
significantly, competitors were able to imitate product at much higher speeds than
previously envisioned and MNCs had built up an existing global network of
production facilities that enabled them to launch products in multiple markets
simultaneously. Investments in an existing portfolio of production facilities made it
harder to relocate plants.
2. The model assumed integrated firms that begin producing in one nation, followed by
exporting and then building facilities abroad. The business landscape had become
much more interrelated since the 1950’s and early 1960’s, less US-centric and created
more complex organizational structures and supplier relations. The trade-off between
export or foreign direct investments was too simplistic: more entry modes exist.
3. The model assumed that technology can be captured in capital equipment and
standard operating procedures. This assumption underpinned the discussion on
labour-intensity, standardization and unit cost.
4. The model stated that the stages are separate and sequential in order. Vernon’s
Harvard Multinational Enterprise Project that took place from 1963 through 1986,
was a massive study of global marketing activities at US, European, Japanese and
emerging-nation corporations. The study found that companies design strategies
around their product technologies. High-technology producers behave differently
from firms with less advanced goods. Companies that invested more R&D to improve
their products and to refresh their technologies were able to ‘push’ these products
back to the new product phase.

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ASTON MARTIN
ABOUT THE COMPANY
The very essence of Aston Martin is something you feel each time you look at one of our
cars. It sweeps over you on every unforgettable drive. Powerful, exhilarating and precise yet
timelessly elegant and sophisticated; our cars blend iconic design, exceptional engineering
and unrivalled craftsmanship to create an unforgettable, emotional experience. Each car is the
essence of Power, Beauty and Soul.
What do you do when you have fair amounts of car racing talent, ample passion for
automobiles and your enthusiasm, if converted into electricity, could power a small town?
You start your own car production and sales business, of course. That is exactly how the
Aston Martin brand was started, proudly born into a garage, much like grunge music. Lionel
Martin and Robert Bamford garnered levels of success similar to Kurt Cobain's Nirvana.
However, Martin and Bamford's version of Nirvana was engineered form scrap through a
partnership that would ultimately lead to a kick in the luxury auto-market's groin.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913, soon after Martin emerged victorious out of the famed
Aston Hill race. The duo produced their first car 2 years later by fitting a four-cylinder
Coventry-Simplex engine to a 1908 Isotta-Fraschinni chassis. However, their plans of
starting production were abruptly shattered by the First World War outbreak when both of
the car-makers joined the army.
Still, Aston Martin would prevail as soon as the War was over, with the company being
refunded to resume its activity. However, not much time went by before Bamford left Aston
Martin in 1920. Luckily enough, a wealthy investor saw the true potential of the brand and
poured heavy funds into its rejuvenation. Count Louis Zborowski investment turned almost
overnight into a delicious technological improvement reward topped with racing track
winnings whipped cream.

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In 1922, Aston Martin produced vehicles to compete in the French Grand Prix. Besides
gaining fame by appearing at some of the most popular races of that time, the cars also
collected acclaim by setting new speed and endurance records at Brooklands. The three types
of chassis that were used at the time became known as the winning trio with chassis number
1915 at the top and supporting numbers 1914 and 1916 at the sides.
However, the tidal wave of fame that has propelled Aston Martin to new heights broke
against the solid wall of a 1924 bankruptcy. Still, it survived, having been purchased by Lady
Charlwood who gave her son John Benson an important administrative role. It would
ultimately prove that her son could not face the challenges of such a position and the
company failed again only one year later. By 1926, the doors had slammed shut, with Lionel
Martin stepping into the shoes of his former business partner, Robert Bamford.
Soon after Martin's leaving, the company would be revived for a second time by a ring of
rich investors including Bill Renwick and Augustus Bertelli who were responsible for the
design and performance of some of the models that would later enter production. By 1937,
Bertelli had already developed a variety of vehicles, some of the most famous being the 'Le
Mans', the Mk II' and the 'Ulster'.
Although Aston Martin was doing well, it was soon afflicted by a third set of financial
problems that were deftly fixed by L. Prideaux Brune, who continued to finance the company
for a short time. After changing ownership for a fourth time, the luxury car-maker became
still, once the Second World War broke out.
In 1947, the lethargy that had snugly wrapped around the company's activity received a
coupe de grace from 'charioteer' David Brown, who had also acquired Lagonda the same
year. Aston Martin Motors, who had gained the name during its 1926 resurrection, had
entered a new stage of production. The first model of the DB series would soon appear, with
a successor being announced in 1950, the DB3 seven years later and so on until the early 70's
with the DBS V8.

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Although Aston Martin enjoyed success and appreciation, it switched to financial-trouble
mode once more, changing two ownerships over the next two decades until Ford took over in
the early 90's. During this time, Aston had grown in size and notoriety with a much wider
palette of offerings ranging from the Volante to the Vantage and the DB7. Although Ford
would not slacken the reins on Aston Martin's leadership, the board committee was forced to
take the same decision as Aston's previous owners: sell the company. Last year Aston Martin
entered a new era when it was purchased by a prodrive chairman David Richards-led
consortium for the amount of $848 million. Ever since, Aston has registered an overall sales
increase and has expanded by opening more dealers in Europe and even moving to China, a
performance that hasn't been achieved in almost a century worth of car-brand history.
EVOLUTION OF AN ICON

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INTERNATIONPRODUCTLIFE CYCLEOF ASTONMARTIN
The automobile is a relatively recent invention, with a history of less than 130 years,
however we’ve gotten so used to it and it’s such an important part of our lives that it seems
like it’s been here forever. And among all car brands there are some with an impressive
history behind them, one of the most recent members of the “100 year” club being one of the
most important British carmakers, Aston Martin. A brand that is synonymous with
“elegance”, “power” and “luxury” and which today identifies itself by the slogan “Power.
Beauty. Soul”
Like many companies out there, the British brand had its ups and downs throughout its
history, having an interesting career in motorsport and also becoming the favorite car of the
world’s most famous spy, James Bond. So let’s take a look at how Aston Martin became the
legend it is today.
THE BEGINNINGS
It all started on January 15, 1913 when Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford became associates
and created a company whose purpose was to sell automobiles built by Singer. The name
they originally used was Bamford & Martin Ltd and after Lionel Martin successfully took
part in the Aston Hill races in Buckinghamshire, the two decided to build their own car
which they named Aston Martin.

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So in 1915 the first Aston Martin automobile was ready for sale. To build it, the two used a
four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine that was mounted on an Isotta-Fraschini chassis. The
car was quickly nicknamed “Coal Scuttle”, since many thought it resembled a household
item that was very used at that time. But things were delayed by the World War I and, in
1920, production was moved to Kensington, with work starting on developing and
manufacturing a new model. Robert Bamford left the struggling company in 1920 and the
one to save it was Count Louis Zborowski. Around 55 units are built, but the company goes
into financial difficulties again and went bankrupt in 1924.
Aston Martin is bought by Lady Charlwood, who tries to save it, but it goes bankrupt again
in 1925, with the Kensington factory being closed in 1926. The same year, Lionel Martin
leaves the company. However, towards the end of 1926, Aston Martin is saved by a group of
investors led by Bill Renwick and Bert Bertelli. The two are the key people in the company’s
rebirth, with Bertelli serving as the technical director and designer between 1926 and 1937.
During this period, Aston Martin launched cars such as the T-Type, International, Le Mans
or MkII. Most of these models were open two-seaters and many also spawned motorsport
versions. Bertelli was also a good driver, so Aston Martin had some interesting results at Le
Mans or Mille Miglia during that time, which helped promoting the brand.
However, financial troubles showed up again in 1932, and assistance is required again. The
ones to save it this time were L. Prideaux Brune and Sir Arthur Sutherland. To assure
financial stability, they decided to focus entirely on street cars, with more than 700 units
being built until World War II stopped production. During the war, Aston Martin built parts
for British planes.
DAVID BROWN AND THE BIRTH OF A FAMOUS NAME: “DB”
In 1947, David Brown Limited buys Aston Martin and the Lagonda brand, with Sir David
Brown deciding to merge the two brands and use all resources to start creating a new line of
models, called DB. The DB2 was announced in 1952, followed by the DB2/4, DB2/4 Mk2,
DB Mk3 and, finally, the famous DB4, which was designed in Italy. Other DB models were
introduced later, the DB5 in 1963, the DB6 in 1965 and the DBS in 1967.

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FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES
Aston Martin still didn’t manage to stay away from financial troubles and in 1970 the
company changed owners again, when it was bought by Company Developments, a
Birmingham based group of companies led by William Wilson. But this didn’t put an end to
Aston Martin’s misery and in 1975 it is sold again, this time to American businessmen Peter
Sprague and George Minden, for only £1 million. The company gets back on its feet for a
while, with 360 new workers being hired to build new models such as the V8 Vantage
(1977), the Volante convertible (1978) or the futuristic looking Lagonda.
The tough financial climate of the early ‘80s again brings problems to Aston Martin,
especially with the failed attempt to buy MG. Even though the transaction never went
through, it was an uninspired attempt since bankruptcy was again threatening the carmaker.
And the one to save the brand was Victor Gauntlett who has a major contribution in Pace
Petroleum and CH Industrials buying an important share in the company. But that’s not all
Gauntlett did for Aston Martin, because he was also actively involved in promoting the
brand. He marketed the Lagonda as the fastest four-seater in the world, achieving impressive
sales in countries like Oman, Kuwait or Qatar. He also drew new funds to support the
company and negotiated for the brand to get back in the James Bond movies next to Timothy

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Dalton. He even went as far as sending his own personal car on set, a pre-production
Vantage.
THE FORD ERA
But the company needed a more long-term approach and the one who was able to offer that
was Ford. In 1991, the American carmaker becomes Aston Martin’s new owner as part of
what would later be known as the Premier Automotive Group division. Throughout its
history, this division was responsible for brands like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and
Volvo.
In 1993, Aston Martin launches the new DB7, which was designed by Ian Callum and
marked the legendary name’s comeback. In 2000, Dr. Ulrich Bez joins Aston Martin and
becomes one of the most important names in the company’s recent history. He became and
still is its CEO and successfully managed to bring Aston Martin back on the map. Under his
leadership, plenty of new cars were launched, such as the V12 Vantage, and the brand again

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returned to James Bond movies, Aston Martin cars being driven by Pierce Brosnan in “Die
Another Day” and Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale”.
However, the first signs of the upcoming financial crisis forced Ford to dissolve its Premier
Automotive Group division and all brands were sold.
DAVID RICHARDS AND THE COMPANY’S REBIRTH
And so, in 2007, the David Richards era starts for Aston Martin. Car enthusiasts probably
know Richards for his involvement in motorsport. He is the owner of the prodrive group that
was in charge with the Subaru and then Mini World Rally Championship teams. He was also
involved in Formula One, assisting teams such as BAR and Benetton, so he was a pretty
important name in the British car industry. Using this, he managed to “recruit” a group of
businessmen from the United States and Kuwait which bought Aston Martin from Ford for
£475 million.

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Things turned out extremely well for Aston Martin and today the company is going through
one of the best periods of its life. Its cars are amazing and attract a lot of wealthy customers,
while extremely exclusive editions such as the Aston Martin One-77 fascinate car enthusiasts
all over the world. And even though the company also went into new territories, such as the
Rapide luxury limousines or the Cygnet small city car (which is actually a rebadged Toyota
IQ), its main lineup still consists of beautiful coupes such as the Vantage, DB9, Vanquish or
Zagato.
ASTON MARTIN AND JAMES BOND
We couldn’t have finished this article without mentioning a partnership that heavily
influenced Aston Martin’s history. For a lot of people, Aston Martin has always been known
as that beautiful car driven by James Bond and this helped the British carmaker’s image a lot.
Even though the first James Bond car was a Sunbeam Alpine, Aston Martin made its screen
debut in the third movie of the series, when Sean Connery drives the famous DB5. Soon, the
DB5 basically became synonymous with James Bond after being used in five more movies,
including the most recent one, “Skyfall”. Other Aston Martins driven by James Bond were
the DBS in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, the V8 Vantage Volante in “The Living
Daylights”, while modern times saw the V12 Vanquish in “Die Another Day” and the DBS
V12 in “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace”.

26
CONCLUSION
International product life cycle theory is significant when it comes to dynamics of
international business in this modern era. Since the adoption of the theory by marketing it has
achieved a universal acceptance and this is attributed to its appeal and wider application. The
theory has been widely quoted and frequently taught element of marketing and this has it
being very influential as it has been seen in other theories ranging from new product
development, in the positioning and differentiation and finally in the portfolio analysis. Thus
international product life cycle provides an intuitively appealing as well as readily
understandable framework of analysis process to be used from considering future growth.
Considering today's high competitive global markets companies are expected to meeting the
increasing demands of its customers as well as rapidly continuously and rapidly improving
its products and services. Thus for any company to realize such demanding goals the
international product life cycle management enhance the company efforts of meeting such
demand by extending as well as bringing together previously separate filed like the computer
aided design, sustainable management, product data management, enterprises resource
planning and the life cycle analysis and recycling.
Companies can no longer afford failure to analyze opportunities for profits offered by exports
and the possible threats to their own market posed by imports. The trend of international
events indicates an increased importance of trade to businessmen. In response to this
changing environment, the manager must have a continuing program to analyze the future
directions of international trade in his products so that he may plan early enough for
appropriate policies. The international product life cycle model provides a useful tool in this
analysis.

27
LATEST NEWS OF ASTON MARTIN
Frankfurt am Main / Stuttgart, January 29th 2016 – Aston Martin has once
again celebrated success in the latest readers’ vote for the “Best Cars 2016”
held by renowned German automotive magazine auto motor und sport.
The 2016 awards were presented on Thursday in Stuttgart and decided entirely
via readers’ votes, the Aston Martin Vanquish was awarded first place in
the Sports Cars Import category.

28
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 http://smallbusiness.chron.com/three-stages-international-product-life-cycle-
theory-19364.html
 http://www.toolshero.com/marketing/product-life-cycle-vernon/
 https://www.astonmartin.com/en/company/about-us
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin
 https://www.astonmartin.com/en/company/company-history
 http://www.ukessays.co.uk/essays/economics/international-product-life-cycle-
model.php

ASTON MARTIN PLC

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