The hand over of the new Aston Martin Site has taken place ready for redevelopment work to commence for the DBX.

• Ministry of Defence (MOD) formally hands over St Athan site to Aston Martin
• Work underway on redeveloping site into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility
• 750 direct new jobs created in South Wales; on target to commence DBX production in 2019

Aston Martin today hosted a special ceremony that launched Phase II of the redevelopment of MOD St Athan. The site in South Wales will become the British luxury carmaker’s second UK manufacturing plant.

The former military site was formally handed over from the Ministry of Defence to Aston Martin by Secretary of State Sir Michael Fallon at a ceremony including Aston Martin President and CEO Dr. Andy Palmer, and Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns and Welsh First Minister, Carwyn Jones. 

With the commencement of these works, Aston Martin St Athan is on target to commence production of the company’s new SUV, the Aston Martin DBX, in 2019.

Dr. Palmer commented: “Due to its sheer size and scale, the St Athan Super Hangars represented an excellent opportunity for us to build our second manufacturing facility, within the envelope of an existing structure. 

It is perhaps fitting that St Athan is, like our headquarters and sports car factory at Gaydon, a former Royal Air Force base.

Today I am pleased to welcome Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon and Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, both of whom have been instrumental in helping us secure this facility. I am also especially pleased to welcome back the First Minister, who has worked side-by-side with us on this programme from inception to completion.

Now we have commenced Phase II, these hangars will be redeveloped to become the home of our newest manufacturing facility.”

Just over one year ago, Aston Martin announced that St Athan had been chosen as the site for its second UK manufacturing plant from 20 potential global locations as part of the growth strategy under the companies Second Century Plan. The investment into St Athan is part of Aston Martins wider industrial expansion plans which will see 1,000 new jobs created across its two manufacturing sites by 2020, with a likely further 3,000 across the supply chain and local businesses in Wales.

Phase I commenced in late 2016 when Aston Martin was first given access to part of the site and began to create the customer and staff reception areas, administration and management offices and the employee restaurant.

Phase II marks the beginning of the project that will see the three super hangars redeveloped into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The new plant brings employment opportunities to South Wales; a recruitment event last year attracted 3,000 applications and already the first technicians are working on the DB11 at Gaydon, training for the highly-skilled roles they will take up at St Athan in 2020.

Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon commented: “This investment is great news for Wales. Aston Martin’s decision to build a new facility on MOD land we no longer need will also bring high skilled jobs to Wales. Releasing this site, and others, will enable us to invest in a better defence estate for the Armed Forces and their families.”

Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns added: "Thanks to the close partnership between the UK and Welsh Governments and the prestigious Aston Martin brand, the St Athan site is springing back to life as a significant centre of employment, bringing with it valuable skills and a lasting legacy for the entire region.

"As the UK exits the EU, we are determined that our country remains a great place to invest and to do business. Aston Martin's decision to invest in Wales shows that we are creating and supporting the right conditions for industry investment. The UK Government’s comprehensive industrial strategy will build on that success, ensuring that we have the right infrastructure, skills and support in place for our world-leading industries as well as support for new emerging sectors to flourish."

First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones said: “Aston Martin’s positive influence on the local community and the economy of Wales is already being felt. More than 40 Welsh workers are now employed at Aston Martin Gaydon preparing for the start of production at St Athan, and many more job opportunities will follow before 2020. As Phase II of redevelopment commences at St Athan, supply chain companies throughout Wales will also have the opportunity to bid for contracts worth over £60m through the Welsh Government’s own Sell to Wales procurement site, extending the benefits of this massive investment throughout Wales.

“Aston Martin is a major success story for Wales and I look forward to further building on our working partnership to bring maximum benefits for the economy and the reputation of Wales worldwide.”

First employees for new St Athan plant gaining skills at Aston Martin HQ building the All-New DB11 Sports car.

• First employees for new St Athan plant gaining skills at Aston Martin HQ
• Highly skilled technicians to return to Wales to build the Aston Martin crossover

Earlier this year, Aston Martin announced significant new investments in its long term future in the United Kingdom, choosing St Athan in Wales as the location for its second manufacturing facility.

As a specialist luxury manufacturer, Aston Martin requires highly skilled technicians to hand build its cars, so the new employees for the St Athan plant, which will begin full production in 2020, will commence their careers with Aston Martin at Gaydon. 

Over 40 people have begun work across the business where they are being fully trained in the ‘Aston Martin way’ by building the new DB11.

Dr. Andy Palmer CMG, Aston Martin President and CEO said: “We are proud of the fact that we have a world-class team building our cars so it is vital that the new Welsh workforce is equally dedicated and passionate. 

It gives me great satisfaction to be able to employ a workforce that is local to the St Athan plant and bring them here to Gaydon to train them to become the skilled technicians required to build our beautiful hand-crafted cars. We have continued to work closely with the Welsh Government throughout the recruitment process and we are very pleased with the calibre of our new employees.”

A recruitment event held in Cardiff in the Spring attracted over 3,000 applicants for the jobs being created at St Athan, from apprentices at the start of their careers to already highly-skilled workers.

First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones said: “We are delighted that Aston Martin chose Wales for its second manufacturing facility and it is a pleasure to see the first group of Welsh employees starting out in their new careers with Aston Martin. The new plant will transform the Ministry of Defence site at St Athan with the economic benefits estimated at half a billion pounds over 30 years.”

Construction work is scheduled to start at St Athan in 2017, centering on the transformation of three super-hangers at MOD St Athan.

Aston Martin announces it has located a new production facility in St Athan, Wales for its next gen cars.

• St Athan, Wales selected as second manufacturing location for new crossover as part of £200M investment in new products and facilities
• Gaydon, England confirmed as manufacturing centre for next generation sports cars
• Up to 1,000 new jobs created across both locations by 2020 

Aston Martin today announced significant new investments towards its long-term future in the United Kingdom. The company confirmed that St Athan in Glamorgan has been chosen as the location for its second manufacturing facility.

With the decision to build the new crossover vehicle in Wales, the company additionally confirmed that production of next-generation sports cars would be focused at its headquarters and manufacturing centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Production of the recently announced all-electric RapidE is also to be located at Gaydon, starting in 2018.

It is anticipated that up to 1,000 new jobs will be created across St Athan and Gaydon between now and 2020. Across the supply chain and local businesses, a further 3,000 jobs will likely be created as a direct result of these investments.

Dr. Andrew Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin said: “During our 103-year history, Aston Martin has become famous for making beautiful hand-crafted cars in England. 

Through a detailed evaluation of over 20 potential global locations for this new manufacturing facility, we were consistently impressed with the focus on quality, cost and speed from the Welsh Government team. 

As a great British company, we look forward to St Athan joining Gaydon as our second centre of hand-crafted manufacturing excellence.”

First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones said: “I am delighted to officially welcome Aston Martin to Wales. We have been working closely with the company for almost two years in the face of fierce competition from other potential sites across the world. 

Our success today is testament to the reputation, dedication and skills of the Welsh workforce, all qualities that are synonymous with such a luxury, hand-crafted brand as Aston Martin.

“Today is the start of a long-term relationship between Wales and Aston Martin. We will work together in building on the strong foundations of our partnership to nurture a prosperous and rewarding future for this iconic company and its skilled workforce in Wales.”

Prime Minister, David Cameron said: “Aston Martin is an iconic British brand and the decision to invest here shows real confidence in our economy. 

With our economic strengths and easy access to European markets, the UK automotive sector is thriving. It is one of the biggest in Europe – and the most productive – and Aston’s creation of up to 1,000 new jobs in Wales and the West Midlands is welcome news.”

Occupying some 90 acres, the new Aston Martin facility at St Athan will re-purpose some of the facilities currently in use at the site by the Ministry of Defence. 

Centered on the transformation of the three existing ‘super-hangers’ at MOD St Athan, construction work is planned to commence in 2017 with full vehicle production commencing in 2020.

St Athan will be the sole production facility for a new Aston Martin crossover vehicle. A concept crossover vehicle named ‘DBX’ was first shown in early 2015 and showed the company’s intention and direction for this fast-growing segment of the luxury market. 

With growing demand for these types of vehicles in markets such as China and the United States, it is expected that over 90% of the production from St Athan will be exported outside of the United Kingdom.

Aston Martin will commence production in the autumn at Gaydon of the new DB11, the replacement for the iconic DB9 and the first car to be launched under the company’s Second Century plan. 

Over the course of the next five years, the company will both replace and expand its entire sports car portfolio. Starting with DB11, sports car manufacturing will be centered at Gaydon with the facility progressively expanding production to a planned maximum volume of 7,000 sports cars a year by 2020.

Aston Martin aims to launch 800-hp, all-electric Rapide in two years time says CEO Dr Andy Palmer.

Aston Martin is betting that even James Bond won’t mind an 800-hp electric car.

The longtime builder of British sports cars will bring an all-electric version of its four-door Rapide to market in two years, CEO Andy Palmer confirmed to Automotive News.

Speaking at Sunday’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance -- a target-rich environment for a high-end brand such as Aston Martin -- Palmer said the electric Rapide would be followed by an all-electric version of the DBX crossover by the end of the decade. Palmer’s confirmation comes several months after he indicated Aston was considering an electric Rapide in April.

It's too early to confirm powertrain specifics, Palmer did reveal his eye-watering expectations for the Rapide: all-wheel drive, around 800 hp and a 200-mile range.

Two key factors

This newfound emphasis on electric cars is driven by two key factors.

“If you want to keep making V-12 engines, then you’ve got to do something at the opposite end of the spectrum,” Palmer said of the company’s defensive strategy. Emissions-free models are necessary in the immediate future to balance out the emissions of its powerful V-8 and V-12 sports cars, especially in markets such as China.

At the same time, Aston is also going on the offensive, noting an opportunity for a powerful, seductive electric car that’s positioned well above a loaded version of Tesla’s most powerful Model S. The P90D currently tops out around $142,000 before any incentives.

“What Tesla clearly shows you is we haven’t hit the ceiling in terms of price,” Palmer said. “But I think it’s hard, though not impossible, for them as a relatively new brand to keep pushing up and to go into that super premier area.”

Palmer declined to be specific about the price of an electric Rapide, but hinted it would be in the $200,000 to $250,000 range (a current gasoline-powered Rapide starts at $205,000). Buyers in that range are looking for “something beyond a pure technology play, they start now looking for legacy,” Palmer said. 

And he didn’t mince words about Tesla’s recently announced “Ludicrous mode” upgrade that drops the Model S 0-to-60 mph acceleration time to 2.8 seconds.

“We don’t do Ludicrous because Ludicrous speed is stupid,” Palmer said.

“I think that the fact that you could drive a few laps of a decent race course or race it around the Nordschleife [famed track in Germany] is much more interesting than doing 500 meters in Ludicrous mode.”

The electric Rapide will use batteries sourced from an “established supplier” such as LG or Samsung -- though not Panasonic -- according to Palmer. Production will be in the hundreds annually, and none of the Rapide’s components will be shared with any Mercedes, which owns 5 percent of Aston Martin and is currently developing engines in conjunction with Aston.

With a goal of starting production within two years, Aston already has an all-electric Rapide test mule on the road.

Several years after the Rapide EV goes on sale, an all-electric DBX will join it. The four-door, awd crossover coupe will be introduced around 2019 as a plug-in hybrid, then a gasoline model, and finally the all-electric version.

DBX EV

It’s too early to know whether the DBX EV would use the same (or similar) powertrain as the Rapide, or whether it would use a new system, Palmer said. He did confirm that Aston was considering a two-door version of the DBX as well.

Aston will use the DBX range to broaden its customer base, particularly in markets such as China and Russia -- something Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce are also planning with future SUV models.

The DBX models will be the second of three pillars Aston is relying on to become a profitable company with a sustainable business model selling around 7,000 vehicles a year (the company sold around 3,400 globally in 2014). The first pillar is revamping its lineup of two-door sports cars, the first of which is the successor to the DB9 expected to debut in 2016, likely as the DB11.

The third pillar will be cash from Aston’s burgeoning Lagonda sub-brand of high-margin, custom-built models, as well as two specialty models a year -- like the track-only Vulcan hypercar and the Vantage GT12 introduced this year.

007 better clear some room in his garage.

David Undercoffler

REPORT HERE

Aston Martin gets a further £200 million investment for new products including the DBX luxury Crossover.

• Investindustrial and Tejara Capital led a further £200 million in investment capital in the form of preference shares
• Enables production of DBX luxury crossover, building on range of iconic luxury sports cars
• FY 2014 revenues of £468 million and adjusted EBITDA of £66 million announced

Aston Martin Lagonda today announced that with the leadership of its major shareholders, it has arranged additional committed funding of £200 million, enabling the 102-year old luxury sports car manufacturer to develop significant new luxury models that will drive the future of the company under its strategic business plan.

The additional capital investment comes in the form of £200 million of preference shares; £100 million of which were issued on 29 April 2015 with the remaining £100 million – already subscribed for – to be issued in the next twelve months, and will further expand the previously announced investment plan.

This major investment in new luxury models is at the core of Aston Martin’s strategic vision. Under the plan, the company will expand into the luxury GT crossover market with the introduction of a new vehicle based on the DBX concept shown at the recent Geneva and Shanghai motor shows.

With the addition of new model lines, the company’s strategy will help drive future growth, always ensuring that Aston Martin builds the world’s most beautiful cars that deliver true sporting ability with passion and refined luxury.

Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Dr Andy Palmer commented: “This additional long-term funding, will enable us to add extra model lines and broaden our presence in the luxury market segment by the end of the decade.

The DBX concept, has generated interest far beyond our expectations. The additional investment announced today will allow us to realise the DBX and other new luxury vehicles that will form the strongest and most diverse portfolio in our history.”

“Our shareholders have shown their strong commitment and confidence in the management team to execute the strategic plan,” continued Palmer.

Separately, Aston Martin Holdings (UK) Limited today announces results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2014. 

In 2014 the company delivered full year revenues of £468 million and adjusted EBITDA of £66 million whilst simultaneously increasing its product development spend by 45%. 

In 2015, the company expects global demand for its luxury sports cars to remain high, whilst it continues to develop and expand its current range starting with first customer deliveries of the limited edition track-only Aston Martin Vulcan and the race inspired, Vantage GT12.

GENEVA - Just when you think Aston Martin can't do any better, they do, with this stunning concept.

• DBX Concept redefines the luxury GT segment for the 21^st Century
• World debut for idea of first all-electric, all-wheel drive, Aston Martin   
• Sophisticated design and innovative engineering to broaden appeal 

Aston Martin today challenges the nature of luxury GT travel in the 21^st Century with the debut at the 85^th Geneva International Motor Show of the innovative DBX Concept.

Created to defy conventional thinking about the luxury GT segment, the DBX Concept widens the appeal of the iconic British luxury brand and reaches out to a more diverse global audience than ever before.

Unveiling the concept, Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “The DBX Concept is a challenge to the existing status quo in the high luxury GT segment. It envisages a world, perhaps a world not too far away, when luxury GT travel is not only stylish and luxurious but also more practical, more family-friendly and more environmentally responsible.

“I asked my team at Aston Martin to expand their thinking beyond conventions, to explore what the future of luxury GT motoring would look like in years ahead, and the DBX Concept you see before you is the result.”

Dr Palmer added: “This is, clearly, not a production-ready sports GT car, but it is a piece of fresh, bold thinking about what Aston Martin GT customers around the world could request of us in the future.

“The DBX Concept is more than a thought starter for us and for our customers, though. We will, in due course, be entering a car into the new DBX space and I am very much looking forward to seeing how this concept is received not only here today, but also by our legion of existing loyal customers and by those potential customers around the world who have, to this point, yet to consider one of our cars.”

Harmonious design

Imagined by Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and his team at the brand’s global headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, the all-electric DBX Concept showcases not only cutting edge engineering but also a major evolution of the British brand’s world-renowned and highly-regarded design language.

Clearly signalling an extension to the brand’s existing model lines in the future, the all-wheel drive DBX Concept seamlessly combines traditional Aston Martin beauty with elegant new engineering that gracefully aligns form and function.

Capable of accommodating four adults in comfort, the DBX Concept also majors on day-to-day practicality. It offers generous luggage capacity by virtue of the fact that its rear trunk and forward load bay can both accept passengers’ belongings.

Opulence and cutting edge style go hand-in-hand in the DBX Concept thanks to a unique fusion of high luxury and advanced technology. These characteristics, allied to the ingenious use of unconventional materials and finishes inside and out, are calculated to further broaden the appeal of Aston Martin.

The concept’s exterior bright work emphasises the brand’s approach to the use of authentic materials, and is made up of machined billet aluminium with visible milling lines in a piece of exquisite craftsmanship intended to be seen as the car’s jewellery. The DBX Concept’s unique paint finish – Black Pearl Chromium – has been specially created to mimic the look of a genuine black pearl, and comprises a micro-fine layer of chrome to deliver a level of reflectivity that cannot be obtained through normal paint finishes.

Inside, the deliberate use of non-automotive standard materials generates a uniquely soft, cocooning ambience. The extensive application of velvet-like Nubuck leather contrasts with the concept’s hard, hi-tech equipment. The exposed leather reveals a sandwiched accent layer, more akin to high-end furniture, while the car’s interior bright ware matches that of the exterior with the addition of a gold ‘pin striping’ element on the edging.

Marek Reichman explained: “The exceptional craftsmanship, with detailing more typically seen on luxury consumer goods or fine jewellery, gives the DBX Concept genuinely global appeal.”

Experimental engineering

Embracing the very latest engineering techniques and theories, the DBX Concept needs no engine compartment thanks to its use of electric, inboard-of-wheel, motors powered by lithium sulphur cells.

Drive-by-wire electric steering, toughened glass with an auto-dimming ‘smart glass’ inter-layer, and bespoke driver and passenger head-up displays are further examples of its cutting edge technology.

Active LED exterior lights, carbon ceramic brakes with a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) and rear view cameras in place of conventional mirrors also underline the mould-breaking nature of this luxury GT concept.

Dr Palmer explained: “A concept car such as this should, in my view, challenge conventional thinking and explore the art of the possible. In the DBX Concept, I believe we have created a new type of luxury car that can not only broaden the appeal of   Aston Martin to a whole new generation of customers, but sit with pride alongside the rest of our range.”