BM461 Global Business: Aston Martin SWOT & Operational Analysis

This portfolio assignment provides a comprehensive analysis of Aston Martin, a British luxury car manufacturer, using SWOT and PESTLE frameworks to evaluate its internal and external environments. The SWOT analysis identifies key strengths such as a strong brand reputation and partnership with James Bond, weaknesses including a limited model range and liquidity issues, opportunities like the rise of the electric vehicle market and expanded technology agreements, and threats such as increasing fuel costs and intense competition. The PESTLE analysis examines the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors impacting Aston Martin, focusing on the operational impacts of each. Furthermore, the assignment delves into the impact of internal and external drivers on Human Resource Management and Marketing within Aston Martin, highlighting the need for strategic marketing plans and effective utilization of skilled workforce. The analysis concludes that both internal and external forces significantly influence Aston Martin's business operations, emphasizing the importance of adapting to market changes and maintaining a strong brand image.

Module: (BM461) Global Business Environment
CW2:Portfolio papers 2 & 3
Portfolio Paper 2:Swot Analysis
Portfolio Paper 3:Operational Impact
SWOT ANALYSIS AND KEY DRIVERS AT ASTON MARTIN

Table of Content
1. Introduction
2. SWOT Analysis
a. Strengths
b. Weaknesses
c. Opportunities
d. Threats
3. Drivers in external and internal environment
4. Conclusion
5. Reference List

Introduction
This assignment aims for showing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats for Aston Martin Brand, by using SWOT Analysis. Aston Martin is a British
manufacturer of sports luxury cars and tourers and was founded in 1913.
Swot Analysis is a technique used to assess and evaluates four aspects of a business
and to develop strategic planning. Does aspects are strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats ( Investopedia, 2020).
Main body
Strengths
Aston Martin started in 1913 and the reputation held by them is big . It is one of the
most established luxury brand cars that has been around for more than one hundred
years.
Their guiding principle is “the love of beautiful”, position and a talent for machines,
propulsion, engines, and racing (Aston Martin, 2020).
Aston Martin has developed a strong presence through its partnership with James
Bond. Since 1964, Aston Martin cars have been featured in James Bond films and has
established itself as a motoring movie star, an icon of style and speed.
Quality of good cars: Aston Martin has a manufacturing and designing team which
makes sure that the car roll out is perfect for their customers.
Sound customer base: Aston Martin has a fan following which is strong. People using
the car has an appreciation for the company (Djozin-Kemadjou, 2019).
Weaknesses
Aston Martin has a limited model range with the lowest price point starting at £160,000
(Aston Martin, 2020). With only five models, Aston Martin caters to a select market that
is not representative of today’s demographic changes.
Aston Martin depends on a limited number of suppliers in the UK, being forced to
redirect its supply chain towards international suppliers (Financial Times, 2018).

Dependency on dealers for sales and promotion. Liquidity issues plaguing the luxury
carmaker.
Not promoting the quality of the old and new vehicles of Aston Martin by featuring in,
more of the franchise movies can be considered another weakness of the Aston Martin
brand.
Market share is less than other companies: On comparing to the companies Aston
Martin has very less market. It is because the concentration is on luxury market and
they have not tried to reach other market.
Selection range being small: Very few models are available limiting customer choice. It
is understanding as the work is with the quality products and specialized technicians
(Löfdahl, 2018).
Opportunities
The transition from hardware to software-driven devices.
 Rise of the Electric Vehicle Market.
 Expanded and enhanced technology agreement signed with Mercedes-Benz AG,
access to advanced technologies to be provided in exchange for new shares.
 Extensive distribution and increases promotion.
 Increasing the availability of service and spare parts.
 Historical values and heritage could be leveraged to attract new customers.
 Create a new source of income by offering affordably priced tours for average
people around the world to have guided throughout the year.
 Improve factory warranty on new cars by working on realisability of the cars
which will result in lowering maintenance cost.
 Automobiles being budgeted: Aston Martin can start incorporating in mass
market. There are people who would like to have technology taste.
 Availability expansion: Availability is there in many nations however, they are
hard to get in local markets (Djozin-Kemadjou, 2019).

Threats
 Continuously increasing fuel cost.
 Intense competition from big automobile giants as Mercedes, Porsche, Bentley,
Lexus, Audi, Maserati.
 Competitive products offering with some features at a low cost.
 Product innovation by competitors.
 Lost of £100m in sales because of COVID-19 (The Guardian, 2020)
 Suffering disruption for some components from China due to COVID-19.
 Fuel cost increase: There has been rise in petrol prices. Aston Martin requires
cars which are powered electrically.
 There is huge competition from companies like Porsche, Bentley etc. There is
need for beating competitors in market.
Drivers in external and internal environments
After the assessment of the Aston Martin brand using SWOT Analysis, some of the
drivers in internal that were identified include a well-established brand in luxurious cars
and an icon of style and speed as a motoring movie star. On the other hand, identified
external forces are a limited number of suppliers in the UK and demographic changes.
Here is a PESTLE analysis of internal and external drivers:
PESTLE Analysis
Political
There has been uncertainty regarding the UK exit from EU. It can lay effect on the
business of company in EU. There is exposure to political developments globally too.
Operational Impact

Aston martin has to make short and long term strategies according to political stability of
governments (Löfdahl, 2018).
Economical
There is the current covid crisis affecting the economy of the world leading to decline in
purchasing power and thus, decline in sales. Credit and market risks are there of foreign
exchange rates which affect the exports outside the nation.
Operational Impact
Aston Martin can do product leverage by expansion of market to local customers.
Social
Consumer preferences shift has been seen with increase in competition and the car
market has witnessed customer having different specifications in different countries.
Thus, there is customer habits necessary to study of different countries where the
company operates.
Operational impact
Aston Martin, a UK based company is subject to increase in tariff imports leading to
profits erosion and increase in product price which can have repercussions of demand.
Technological
There is a growing interest in alternative fuel technology with compressed natural gas
and cars having been moving towards electrification. There is digitization and
technologies which are advanced changing the automobile market.
Operational Impact
Aston Martin launched its first electric car in 2019. It presented its first sports car Rapid
E and the electric Lagonda Vision concept. Rapid E comes in twin electric motor which
has an ability for reaching 60 mph in lesser than four seconds (Collins, 2020).
Legal

Compliance of laws and regulations need to be followed and susceptibility for liability
claims for product along with compliance norms can hurt the sale and margins of the
manufacturer.
Operational Impact
Aston Martin has to assess the business laws of the country in which it is entering.
Environmental
Greenhouse emission for greener cars is the norm these days. People are looking for
companies who take environment’s sustainability in consideration.
Operational Impact
Aston Martin have to follow the environment’s control over carbon emissions of targets
set.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Aston Martin is one of the most luxurious brand cars and grand tourers,
with a longevity of more than one hundred years on the market. Even so, the Brexit and
trading conditions between EU and UK created up a loss of more than £92m compared
with the profit of £24m in the same period of 2018 (The Guardian, 2019). The internal
and external factors have been discussed in the report with SWOT and PESTLE
analysis and their operational impact on the company.

References
Aston Martin, 2020. Heritage (online). AstonMartin.com. Available at:
https://www.astonmartin.com/en-GB/our-world/heritage [Accessed 11 December 2020]
Aston Martin, 2020. Models (online). AstonMartin.com. Available at:
https://www.astonmartin.com/en-GB/Models/DBX [Accessed 11 December 2020]
Financial Times, 2020. Aston Martin turns to foreign suppliers to drive growth (online).
Ft.com. Available at:
https://www.ft.com/content/1e83fe3a-e98d-11e8-885c-e64da4c0f981 [Accessed 12
December 2020]
Investopedia, Feb 24, 2020. Swot Analysis (online). Investopedia.com. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swot.asp [Accessed: 11 December 2020]
The Guardian, Feb 27, 2020. Aston Martin losses depends as it issues coronovarius
warning (online). The Guardian.com. Available at
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/feb/27/aston-martin-losses-deepen-as-it-
issues-coronavirus-warning [Accessed 13 December 2020].
The Guardian, 7 Nov, 2019. Aston Martin blames tough European market for £13.5 loss
(online). TheGuardian.com. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/07/aston-martin-blames-tough-
european-market-for-135m-loss [Accessed 13 December 2020]

Djozin-Kemadjou, L.M., 2019. A study on the electrification of a classic Aston
Martin (Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente).
Löfdahl, L., 2018. Evolution of downforce on performance cars. In 18. Internationales
Stuttgarter Symposium (pp. 1411-1426). Springer Vieweg, Wiesbaden.
Collins, B., 2020. Aston Martin: Made in Britain. Hachette UK.
OPERATIONAL IMPACT ANALYSIS
Table of content
Introduction
Impact on Human Resource Management
Impact on Marketing
Conclusion
References

Introduction
Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin Brand is a British
independent manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers.
The company has 16 bases around the UK.The headquartered and main production of
its sport cars and grand tourers are in a -22 hectares facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire
and England. The identified key drivers in Swot Analysis are categorised into internal
and external forces. After applying the Swot Analysis, the internal drivers identified are
well established brand in luxury cars, icon of a style and speed as a motoring movie
star. On the other side the identified external drivers are demographic changes and
limited number of suppliers in UK. This essay aims to show how internal and external
drivers affect the marketing and Human Resources Management of the business.
Impact on Human Resource Management
Human resources (HR) is one of the most important division of a business, being in
charged with finding, screening, recruiting, and training job applicants, as well as
administering employee-benefit programs. HR plays a key role in helping companies
deal with a fast-changing business environment and a greater demand for quality

employees in the 21st century (Investopedia, 2020). Therefore, human resource
management is meant for proper utilisation of available skilled workforce and also to
make efficient use of existing human resource in the organisation. The HRM is
influenced by internal drivers, especially brand name, its strong image as luxury cars
and tourers. Invest in technology is another essential tool. This technologies help in
having in time a real reaction of consumer feedback and solve the accured issues.
Impact on Marketing
Being a luxurious car brand, Aston Martin has felt the increased cost changes into the
market, being necessary to handle its marketing budgets regarding to any cost cutting.
The partnership for James Bond Franchise will need a marketing strategic plan in order
to realise the new movie “ No time to die”, as sooner as possible, and together with the
movie to launch new car model DBX SUV and boost the cashflow throughout the year.
After a cycle of financial instability and an entry into London Stock Exchange, Aston
Martin has been focused on broodering its customers base beyond western male
petroleum ether (The Drum, 2020).
Conclusion
As a conclusion the internal and external forces meaningfully impact both marketing and
Human Resources Management of Aston Martin Brand. It capacity to coupe with all the
changes makes Aston Martin even a stronger brand, nevertheless the incertitude of not
knowing when the lunch of the new car model will be and the pandemic crisis that
occurs amid the company to have louses in sales.

References
Investopedia, Jul 28, 2020. Human Resources.(online) Investopedia.com. Available at:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/humanresources.asp [Accessed 10 December
2020]
The Drum, Jan 01, 2020. Aston Martin’s marketing spend. (Online) Thedrum.com.
Available at:
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/01/07/aston-martin-s-marketing-spend-hurts-
profits-putting-brand-investment-plans-the-line [Accessed 10 December 2020]