LONDON: It seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry in the auto industry with the resources wants to make an SUV. Aston Martin is no different.
Its DBX crossover concept, first shown in early 2015, is confirmed for production and will be built at its second plant in St Athan, Wales, with over 90% of the production exported mainly to China and the United States.
Occupying some 36ha, the new Aston Martin factory in St Athan will re-purpose some of the facilities currently in use at the site by the British Ministry of Defence. Construction of the new plant will start in 2017 with full vehicle production beginning in 2020. The DBX is likely to start being produced from 2019.
Construction of the new plant in Wales will start in 2017.
The DB11, which replaces the DB9, will be built this year at its existing Gaydon plant in Warwickshire.
Both developments are part of Aston Martin's £200mil (RM1.2bil) renewal strategy to both replace and expand its entire sports car stable over the next five years. 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.
Production of the recently announced all-electric RapidE is also to be located at Gaydon, starting in 2018.
