*By Michael Teich* Brexit could be a major bump in the road for Aston Martin if it disrupts trade with the automaker's European partners, said the company's CMO Simon Sproule. "The biggest threat to us of Brexit is non-tariff barriers, because if you end up getting import duties on Astons going into Europe, then you're going to get import duties on Ferraris coming into the UK. So it's a zero-sum game," Sproule said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. The Brexit withdrawal process began March 29, 2017 after a countrywide vote, and the UK is set to depart from the European Union on March 29, 2019. A new report from the Federation of German Industries said a "hard Brexit" ー meaning in the absence of a deal between the EU and the UK ー could cause exports to Britain from the rest of the EU to drop by as much as [57 percent](https://www.dw.com/en/german-industry-warns-against-hard-brexit/av-45818058). That kind of trade disturbance would not be good for business, Sproule said. "What we're lobbying the government most strongly about is to ensure the free flow of parts and obviously completed vehicles," he added. Aston Martin ($AML.L) is the latest luxury automaker to make its market debut. Despite a rough start on the London Stock Exchange since its Oct. 3 IPO ー shares are down 16 percent since ー Sproule said patient investors will benefit from the company's future growth. "The IPO was effectively a marker in our evolution," he said. "People that have been buying into us are buying in for the long term. They buy into the equity story, they buy into the future potential of Aston Martin." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/aston-martin-cmo-we-have-no-interest-in-making-cheaper-cars).
