Que devient la marque de luxe Aston Martin?

11 Décembre 2014 , Rédigé par Laurence B Publié dans #Économie

Aston Martin to issue bond, real bonds

Luxury British carmaker synonymous with the 007 film franchise plans to raise £150m and branch into new range of models

To issue = publier, faire paraitre
A bond = un engagement, un contrat, un lien
A carmaker = un fabricant automobile, un carrossier
To raise money = se procurer de l’argent
To branch into = se diversifier
A new range = une nouvelle gamme

Aston Martin is planning to raise up to £150m from investors to move into new models such as crossover SUVs, luxury sedans and electric cars. The British marque, favoured by James Bond, is working on plans to issue new shares or bonds to its backers, according to a Reuters report, as it extends its turnaround plan for a further three years, to 2020.
SUV = abbréviation de “Support Utility Vehicle”
A sedan = une berline
Shares or bonds = des parts/ actions ou des bons/ titres
A backer = un commanditaire
A turnaround plan = un plan de redressement/ transformation radicale

The lossmaking carmaker had previously pencilled in a return to profitability in 2017. Crossover SUVs – a cross between a family car and a sports car – sedans and hybrid models all feature in its plans. “It’s an expansion from the current model range,” a source told the news agency. At a lavish party in London last week, Aston Martin’s new chief executive Andy Palmer unveiled a DB10 concept car that will feature in the next Bond film, Spectre. “It will come as no surprise when I say that the year ahead is going to be busy across the board,” the former Nissan executive told guests.
Loss maker = une entreprise en déficit chronique
To pencil in = fixer provisoirement
A cross = un croisement/ mélange
To feature = figurer
A lavish party = une gigantesque fête/ réception
The chief executive = le directeur
To unveil = dévoiler
Guests = les invités

Aston Martin has been held back by ageing models and a lack of investment, in a British luxury car industry dominated by Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover, its next-door neighbour in the Warwickshire village of Gaydon. Aston Martin has missed out on a luxury car boom that involved the global market almost doubling in five years. Last year Aston Martin delivered 4,200 cars, far short of its peak of 7,300 before the financial crisis in 2007.
To hold back = rester en arrière/ en retrait
Ageing = vieillissant
A lack of = un manque de
Tata-owned = dont le propriétaire est Tata (groupe indien)
Next-door neighbour = le voisin d’à côté
To miss out on = rater, louper
To deliver = livrer
Far short = loin derrière
A peak = apogée, sommet, pic

The firm’s main backers are Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund Investment Dar and Milan-based private equity firm Investindustrial, which together control 93% of Aston Martin, after several capital raisings since Ford sold the company in 2007. A further 5% is held by Daimler, as part of a partnership struck last year for the German firm to supply Mercedes engines. Daimler, which lacks a British luxury brand to counter VW’s Bentley and BMW’s Rolls-Royce, has expressed interest in greater involvement with Aston Martin.
Sovereign = souverain
Wealth = richesse, fortune
Milan-based = basé à Milan
Further = supplémentaire
Is held by = est détenu par
A partnership = un partenariat
To supply = fournir
Engine = moteur
To lack = manquer de
To counter = contrer, répliquer à
Involvement = participation, rôle

Aston has already begun updating its models under a £500m investment strategy drawn up in 2012, when Investindustrial acquired a 37.5% stake for £150m. Its plans include the replacement of the £120,000 DB9 in late 2016.
To update = mettre à jour, actualiser
A stake = un intérêt
In late 2016 = fin 2016

Julia Kollewe
The Guardian, Thursday 11 December 2014