Aston Martin DBX Enters Pre-Production Ahead Of Launch Later This Year

Aston Martin’s St Athan plant in Wales has kicked off pre-production of the DBX crossover.

Announced in early 2016, the British brand’s second facility (after Gaydon in Warwickshire) is located on a former Ministry of Defense site that has been modernized and employees 200 people, who will soon be joined by 550 more, along with roughly 3,000 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 CEO Andy Palmer. “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.”

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The St Athan plant will be the sole plant were the DBX will be made. It’s also Lagonda’s ‘Home of Electrification’, as well as its manufacturing home.

Set to be unveiled at the end of the year, the brand’s first ever SUV commenced real-world testing in 2018. So far, it has been tested in different environments all over the globe, from the Arctic Circle’s sub-zero temperatures to the demanding Nurburgring Nordschleife racetrack.

Currently in its final stages of development, the DBX is expected to offer proper on- and off-road performance. It will be powered by a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 made by Mercedes-AMG, which will put out 510 PS (503 hp / 375 kW) and 685 Nm (505 lb-ft) of torque – essentially the same unit used in the Vantage. It’s also expected to get a V12 and a hybrid powertrain later on, which will help it solidify its position in the segment that includes vehicles such as the Porsche Cayenne.