Aston Martin finally announced the location of their new manufacturing plant, after months of rumors and negotiations.
The British car maker picked St Athan, Wales as the second manufacturing location which is going to produce their new crossover model.
Following numerous reports about the company looking into opening a second plant in locations like the US, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Aston Martin decided to stay within the borders of the United Kingdom.
The site in St Athan covers some 90 acres, with Aston Martin to re-purpose some of the facilities currently in use by the British Ministry of Defense. Construction work is planned to commence in 2017, with full vehicle production scheduled for 2020.
Up to 1,000 new jobs will be created across St Athan and Gaydon between now and 2020, with a further 3,000 jobs likely to be created as a result of the company’s £200 million investment plan.
“Through a detailed evaluation of over 20 potential global locations for this new manufacturing facility, we were consistently impressed with the focus on quality, cost and speed from the Welsh Government team,” said Andrew Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin. “As a great British company, we look forward to St Athan joining Gaydon as our second centre of hand-crafted manufacturing excellence.”
UK Prime Minister, David Cameron said: “Aston Martin is an iconic British brand and the decision to invest here shows real confidence in our economy. With our economic strengths and easy access to European markets, the UK automotive sector is thriving. It is one of the biggest in Europe – and the most productive – and Aston’s creation of up to 1,000 new jobs in Wales and the West Midlands is welcome news.”
Aston Martin also announced that they will commence production of the new DB11 in this autumn, with the promise of replacing their entire sports car portfolio with new models in the next five years.
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