Bentley has a sport utility vehicle. Lamborghini will soon add an SUV to its range. While McLaren mocks this trend of the ultra-luxury segment, Aston Martin has jumped on the jacked-up bandwagon as well. What’s more, the British automaker is now hiring workers for its future facility in St Athan, South Wales.
With a population of just about 5,000, St Athan is a community with three pubs, a football club, a golf club, and a skate park. From the outside, things don’t look too good. And so, a question has to be posed: why did Aston Martin choose St Athan for its all-new plant?
The reason why the British automaker had chosen South Wales in the detriment of Alabama, a Middle Eastern location, and two UK sites is relatively simple: site-readiness and (still undisclosed) government backing. In St Athan, Aston Martin will integrate three RAF hangars into its facility.
Slated to begin production in 2020, the Aston Martin St Athan plant needs 1,000 people or thereabout to operate at projected capacity. Over 40 people of the 1,000-strong tally “have begun work across the business where they are being fully trained in the Aston Martin way by building the new DB11.”
Actual construction of the facility will begin at an undisclosed date next year. The plant where the DBX Concept-based crossover will be made could see an expansion if demand for Aston Martins soars in the near future. In this regard, prepare yourselves for a varied selection of brand new or new-gen models.
Other than the previously mentioned crossover, the next-gen V8 Vantage and V12 Vantage are in the offing. Further down the line, there’s the next-generation Vanquish, the AM-RB 001 hypercar, a couple of Lagonda-badged sedans (including the pure electric RapidE), and a mid-engined supercar.
That’s an overly ambitious plan for an automaker that hasn’t turned a profit since 2010, but then again, I sure wish AM can get out of its slump.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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