Aston Martin set for another golden age

In a global industry that boasts around 85 million cars per annum, Aston Martin makes up a fractional slice of the total cars built each year. But it also claims a staggering 95 per cent of all Aston Martins are still in existence - as few, if any, are scrapped.

Today, Aston Martin is backed by several large investors, including Kuwaiti investment companies and Italian private investment fund Investindustrial, who collectively hold the majority of shares.

Nowadays, the company has a four model line-up: Vantage, DB11, Vanquish and Rapide. The next six years, a period which Aston’s CEO Andy Palmer is calling the “Second Century Plan”, will not only see the manufacturer produce new-generation versions of all its current models, but also introduce all-new models like the DBX crossover, which will commence production in 2019 at a second manufacturing facility at St Athan, in South Wales.

Currently, Aston Martin builds around 3500 cars a year, though production capacity at the company’s Gaydon headquarters in the UK is limited to 7000 cars a year, which effectively sets the size of Aston’s core sports car business.

Additional sales will come from the DBX (there is likely to be more than one Aston Martin crossover) and ultimately, the Lagonda – a high-end luxury four-door sedan, which is likely to be positioned between Rolls Royce and Bentley.

Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer and Design Director, Marek Reichman, also told journalists that the company will continue with special project cars, which it has had plenty of success with. See our detailed discussion with Reichman here.

In terms of the business going forward, there are around 155-plus dealers across 56 countries - a list that is in the process of growing, with new markets such as Indonesia and South Korea.

Other growth areas for the business include licensing and merchandising, with the continuation of Aston’s long-standing relationship with British fashion brand, Hackett.

New to Aston Martin, but more common among rivals like Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren, are lifestyle experiences, which Aston is calling ‘The Art of Living’, which is about extending the brand into the world of experiences. These would include customer launch events, attending drive experiences around iconic races like Le Mans, and even Formula One races in concert with Aston’s F1 partner, Red Bull.

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