Aston Martin has announced that its second manufacturing plant has opened, with the first vehicles to roll off the assembly line in Wales taking the form of the latest pre-production examples of the upcoming DBX.
The St Athan facility will be the sole production site for the new Aston Martin DBX, which will be the British firm’s first SUV when it is unveiled towards the end of 2019.
The plant will also be the automaker’s “home of electrification” and the manufacturing home of the Lagonda brand.
Aston says its 90-acre site has so far resulted in 200 new jobs and is “expected to create up to 550 more”. It adds that as a direct result of the investment a further 3 000 jobs will “likely be created across the supply chain and local businesses”.
“This is an exciting time for Aston Martin Lagonda. Our second luxury manufacturing facility is now producing cars and is ready to go into full production in H1 2020,” said Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda president and group chief executive officer.
“Our facilities and manufacturing teams, led by VP and chief manufacturing operations officer Keith Stanton, have done an outstanding job in getting the factory ready almost a year before full production starts, on time and on budget,” he added.
