New crash safety standards could cause U.S. Aston Martin dealerships to close down. The impeding crash safety standards take effect in September 2015 and deal with side-impact crash rules.
The new rules will prevent new and unregistered Aston Martin Vantages and DB9s from being sold in America. The DB9 and Vantage compose a large portion of the British automaker’s annual sales in the U.S. for convertibles and coupe vehicles. If the DB9 and Vantage are barred from being sold, American Aston Martin dealerships could face enormous loses.
The convertible models of the two vehicles are currently exempt until the new safety rules that start in September 2015. Aston Martin would have to get another exemption for the vehicles or withdraw them from the market by that time. The possibility of the withdrawal from the market could cause issues with prospective buyers unwilling to put a payment down for the vehicles.
The withdrawal of these vehicles from the U.S. market could make Aston Martin dealerships unprofitable. This could lead to the withdrawal of all Aston Martin vehicles from the U.S. car market.