Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce's annual sales surged 25% in 2019, and Bentley returned to profitability.
But for Aston Martin, the hard times continued, with its shares suffering a double-digit loss on Tuesday after a new profit warning.
David Pollard reports.
High-class motoring hit the headlines on Tuesday (January 7) as Rolls-Royce and Bentley revealed their latest sales snapshots.
And Aston Martin - whose performance is less than prestige.
Its shares were down as much as 12 per cent on news that a key measure of 2019 profit will come in between 130 and 140 million pounds - only just over half what it was a year ago.
Famed as James Bond's wheels of choice, Aston has already cut its outlook twice in the last six months ... Its share price value has lost around three quarters since its 2018 listing.
Europe did worse than other markets, it says.
Tough trading conditions continued in what boss Andy Palmer described as a "very disappointing year." Though not for Rolls Royce - which is flush from a 25% jump in sales over the same period.
The 116-year old British company - now owned by BMW - said it sold a record 5,152 cars in 2019, up over a thousand on the previous year.
Its first-ever SUV, the Cullinan, underpinned sales, it said.
Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes is Chief Executive.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) ROLLS-ROYCE CEO, TORSTEN MUELLER-OETVOES, SAYING: "We have basically seen that 25 percent intake worldwide in basically all markets, and China has done a tremendous job for us as well.
And I think there was good confidence." 2019 for Bentley meant a return to profitability.
The VW-owned brand sold just over 11,000 vehicles - boosted by its new Continental GT Convertible and a series of derivatives and limited editions.
Operating profit at 73 million dollars compares to a loss of around 320 million the previous year ... In what the luxury carmaker says is proof that it's successfully turning itself around.