Aston Martin trying to mitigate Brexit risk with U.S. sales drive

LONDON (Reuters) - Luxury British carmaker Aston Martin is trying to boost its market share in the United States and Japan to mitigate against any risks from Brexit which could add costs and delays to sales to the European Union, its boss told Reuters on Friday.

Around 20 percent of the firm's top-end cars are currently exported to the United States whilst 15 percent are sold to the European Union, with whom unfettered tariff-free trade is at risk depending on the outcome of Brexit talks.

But Chief Executive Andy Palmer said the firm has ploughed resources into boosting demand in the world's biggest economy since the June 23 Brexit vote last year.

"We decided to invest money in marketing in the U.S," he told Reuters during a telephone interview on Friday.

"We are trying to give a push in the U.S. to increase our market share there, increase our volumes there (and) therefore decrease our reliance on Europe," he told Reuters. "To some extent, that would be true also of Japan."

Aston, which posted record first-half pre-tax profit on Friday, will boost its global volumes by around a third to roughly 5,000 cars this year.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Kate Holton)