Aston Martin has announced significant new investments towards its long-term future in the United Kingdom. The company confirmed St Athan in Glamorgan has been chosen as the location for its second manufacturing facility.
With the decision to build the new crossover in Wales, Aston Martin additionally confirmed that production of next-generation sports cars would be focused at its headquarters and manufacturing centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Production of the 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.
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.
