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Aston Martin has attributed an earnings downgrade to Donald Trump's tariffs, as it calling on the UK government for more proactive support.

The company, which builds its vehicles in factories across England and Wales, revised its earnings forecast on Monday, marking the second such revision in the current year. It now anticipates a larger loss than the earlier estimated £110 million deficit.

Seeking Government Support

Aston Martin voiced concerns with the British leadership, telling shareholders that while it has engaged with representatives on both sides, it had positive discussions with the American government but required greater initiative from British officials.

It urged British authorities to safeguard the interests of small-volume manufacturers like Aston Martin, which provide thousands of jobs and add value to regional finances and the broader UK automotive supply chain.

International Commerce Impact

Trump has shaken the global economy with a tariff conflict this year, heavily impacting the automotive industry through the imposition of a 25 percent duty on 3rd April, in addition to an existing 2.5% levy.

During May, American and British leaders agreed to a deal to cap duties on 100,000 British-made vehicles annually to 10%. This tariff level took effect on June 30, coinciding with the last day of the company's Q2.

Trade Deal Criticism

However, Aston Martin expressed reservations about the bilateral agreement, stating that the implementation of a American duty quota system introduces additional complications and limits the company's capacity to precisely predict financial performance for the current fiscal year-end and possibly quarterly from 2026 onwards.

Additional Challenges

Aston Martin also pointed to reduced sales partially because of greater likelihood for logistical challenges, particularly after a recent digital attack at a major UK automotive manufacturer.

UK automotive sector has been rattled this year by a cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover, which prompted a manufacturing halt.

Market Reaction

Shares in Aston Martin, traded on the LSE, fell by more than 11% as trading opened on Monday at the start of the week before recovering some ground to be 7 percent lower.

Aston Martin sold 1,430 vehicles in its Q3, falling short of earlier projections of being broadly similar to the 1,641 cars delivered in the equivalent quarter last year.

Future Plans

The wobble in sales comes as Aston Martin gears up to release its flagship hypercar, a mid-engine supercar costing approximately £743,000, which it expects will boost earnings. Deliveries of the vehicle are expected to begin in the final quarter of its fiscal year, though a projection of about 150 units in those three months was lower than previous expectations, reflecting engineering delays.

Aston Martin, famous for its appearances in the 007 movie series, has started a review of its upcoming expenditure and investment strategy, which it said would likely result in lower spending in R&D versus earlier forecasts of about £2bn between its 2025 to 2029 fiscal years.

Aston Martin also told investors that it does not anticipate to generate profitable cash generation for the second half of its current year.

UK authorities was approached for a statement.