Aston says slow production hurting Cygnet sales

The controversial Aston Martin Cygnet may not hit its yearly sales goal of 20,000 units.

Surprisingly, low demand is not the reason the diminutive Aston Martin Cygnet city car is posting disappointing initial sales numbers.

Instead, Aston CEO Bez Ulrich says that the long waiting time between when customers place an order and the car is actually delivered is putting potential buyers off. Like the more traditional cars made by the company, the Cygnet's body and interior are assembled by hand, a time-intensive process that simply isn't allowing the cars to be built quickly enough.

"I'm not satisfied with Cygnet sales," said Bez. "We can't deliver as many as the customers want, as we don't have enough stock. It is the sort of product a customer sees and decides they want on the spot - they don't want to have to wait for their car to be built, but to drive it away there and then."

Aston Martin had initially hoped to achieve yearly sales of 20,000 units for the �'£31,995 Cygnet, which is based heavily on the �'£9,995 Toyota iQ.

Bez also had a response for the car's detractors, saying: "I don't know why people criticize this. It's a luxury piece, a great car to go around town in. Why would you take a Vantage through London when you could have this?"

References
1.'Aston: supply issue...' view