Ford Motor put Aston Martin up for auction on Thursday as the troubled US carmaker began dismantling its stable of British luxury brands in the face of deep losses in its home market.

Ford has appointed an investment bank to handle the sale of the famous brand, for which it is understood to have pencilled in a price of more than $2bn – far higher than the value put on it by financial analysts. It is already in early talks with “interested parties”, Ford said, although it could retain a minority stake.

The sale comes as Ford is considering which other brands it should sell to fund restructuring and reduce losses at Premier Automotive Group, its luxury carunit, which lost $162m in the second quarter. The luxury division was supposed to break even this year after losing $100m last year but Ford warned in July that it would again make a loss.

Bill Ford, group chairman and chief executive, said Aston – based in the English midlands – was the “logical” choice for a sale because it had its own dealer network and factories. But he said no decision had been made on whether to sell Aston sister brands Jaguar, Land Rover or Volvo.

Ford has been carrying out a strategic review after losing $1.3bn in the first half of this year, and is also drawing up a new recovery plan to replace the one started in January. Last month it hired Kenneth Leet, a former Goldman Sachs banker, to help consider strategic options.

Aston Martin, famous for sports cars driven by James Bond in films such as Goldfinger and Thunderball never made a profit until 2005, Ulrich Bez, chief executive, said this year. Ford took a controlling stake in 1987 and sales have increased from 46 units in 1992 to 4,500 last year.

Posted: 09|1|06 at 6:50 am. Filed under: UK News.