Aston Martin Lagonda inaugurated its new manufacturing facility at St Athan, Wales, on December 6. Upon the commencement of full production in the second quarter of 2020, the automotive manufacturer will have created up to 600 new highly-skilled jobs, rising to 750 at peak production. The company continues to manufacture its sports car in Gaydon, West Midlands region of England, and the new plant in St Athan will produce Aston Martin’s first SUV, the DBX. Since 2016, the St Athan site has undergone a three-year transformation from Royal Air Force base to state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

Phase I of construction began in late 2016 with the creation of the customer and staff reception areas, administration and management offices and the employee restaurant. Phase II got underway in Spring 2017, while the final phase to fit out the now converted super-hangars got underway in late 2018, ready for pre-production to commence in 2020. “The DBX is a true Aston Martin; it captures the very spirit of the brand as a beautiful hand built, yet technologically advanced car. Around 90% of production is expected to be exported and sold overseas”, said the carmaker, which has also announced a new partnership with Airbus Corporate Helicopters.

According to Aston Martin, for the past 12 months designers from both brands have worked together on the aesthetic styling of the first product from this collaboration, which is set to be revealed in early 2020. “Applying our own automotive design principles in the aerospace world is a fascinating challenge and one that we are very much enjoying”, said Marek Reichman, Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Aston Martin Lagonda. “This is a bold cooperation, which corresponds to our tradition of experimenting with new design approaches. The result is a unique creation of breath-taking design accomplishment and beauty”, added Frédéric Lemos, Head of Airbus Corporate Helicopters. The first creation of the Aston Martin Airbus Corporate Helicopterspartnership will be revealed at Courchevel, in the French Alps, on January 3, 2020.

Aston Martin's new SUV factory in St Athan, Wales.