GAYDON (dpa-AFX) - The struggling luxury sports car maker Aston Martin is not getting out of the red despite significant sales increases. Below the line, the Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary posted a loss of just under 74 million British pounds (84 million euros) in the first quarter, the company announced in Gaydon on Wednesday. A year earlier, the loss had been even higher at 112 million pounds. However, the loss was reduced only because of a significantly less weak financial result. Costs in day-to-day operations, however, rose faster than sales. The share lost almost 5 percent in London.

Aston Martin sold 1269 cars in the first quarter, nine percent more than a year earlier. Customers turned to more expensive models, especially the SUV hopeful DBX. The average selling price per car climbed by 18 percent to 213,000 pounds. Sales thus rose much faster than unit sales, by 27 percent to 296 million pounds.

The transformation of the model range is accelerating, CEO Amedeo Felisa said, according to the statement. The new range will bring a significant improvement in profitability, he added. In the first three months, however, rising manufacturing, logistics and administrative costs weighed. Aston Martin also put more money into advertising and marketing to boost future growth.

Mercedes had taken a stronger stake in the traditional British brand in 2020. In return for newly issued shares, the Dax group provided the company with hybrid and electric drives and other components. Most recently, the Stuttgart-based company held 9.7 percent of the shares. However, Aston Martin's share price is a tragedy for investors: The company was floated on the stock market in the fall of 2018, then at an issue price of 19 pounds. In the meantime, several financial injections have significantly diluted the shares, and the share price is currently only just over 2 pounds./men/ngu/jha/