2017 Aston Martin Db11 Base 2dr Coupe on 2040-cars

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Cash influx could help Aston Martin double sales

Aston Martin is on the verge of a major product overhaul – complete with new architecture and powertrains. And good thing, considering that the Vantage and DB9 are each about a decade old. But to make it all happen, the British automaker is going to need a massive capital influx. Fortunately, that's just what it got when Investindustrial came on board. The Italian private equity fund, which previously owned a large chunk of Ducati and is now building a Ferrari theme park in Spain, bought a 37.5 percent stake in Aston Martin back in 2012. The acquisition reportedly cost Investindustrial the better part of a quarter billion dollars, but that's not the end of the firm's investment in Aston. According to Bloomberg, Investindustrial is now pouring even more into the Gaydon-based marque to help fund its product blitz. The output of that investment is expected to be announced at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. That's where Aston's new chief executive Andy Palmer (whom Investindustrial reportedly helped poach from Nissan) is tipped to announce the company's new product plan that is earmarked to help double the company's sales from around 4,000 units last year to as many as 8,000 once those new products reach the market. The plan will assuredly include replacements for Aston's trademark luxury GTs, but could also encompass a new crossover utility vehicle to give it a greater foothold in growing markets like China while taking on similar new products from key rivals like Bentley and Maserati. While those two competitors are owned by larger auto groups – Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler, respectively – Aston is independent. It's brokered a deal with Mercedes (thanks once again in no small part to Investindustrial) to help with components it can't effectively develop in-house, but the cash injection will be critical to the brand's revival plans.

Aston Martin considers building DBX in Macedonia

To build the new DBX crossover, Aston Martin is preparing to expand production outside of its home in Warwickshire. It just hasn't decided where the new plant will be. But while it has narrowed its search to just a few locations, one site that was previously discounted is now reportedly back in the running: Macedonia. The former Yugoslavian republic to the north of Greece has been soliciting car companies for manufacturing projects for years. And though it doesn't currently have any final assembly plants, it does have numerous component suppliers located within its borders. According to Automotive News, the Balkan country boasts relatively low wages and an educated workforce – a hard mix to come by. Perhaps best known as the birthplace of Alexander the Great, Macedonia was initially short-listed among 18 other locations as a potential site for the new Aston plant. The British automaker initially ruled it out as it whittled its list down, but Reuters reports that the country has since come back with a more attractive proposal with greater incentives from the government, putting it back in the running. Other locations under consideration include two locations in the UK, one in the Middle East, and one here in America. The Alabama site would be conveniently located near the plant in Tuscaloosa where Mercedes builds many of its crossovers, which could be a huge advantage – especially if the DBX borrows some of its underpinnings from Daimler. The last Aston Martin built off-site was the Rapide, which was previously manufactured by Magna Steyr in Austria until 2012 when Aston moved production in-house to Gaydon. The Cygnet was also manufactured by Toyota in Japan alongside the Scion iQ on which it was closely based, but the finishing touches were put on by Aston in Gaydon until the model was discontinued. Other European automakers also operate plants in the region. The Volkswagen Group and Peugeot SA manufacture in Slovakia. Renault and Smart build their city cars in Slovenia. Mercedes and Audi run assembly plants in Hungary. And Fiat builds in Serbia and in nearby northeastern Turkey, where Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, and Renault also have plants. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Aston Martin Plants/Manufacturing Aston Martin Crossover Luxury Performance aston martin dbx macedonia

Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.