Aston Martin and Ford have reportedly agreed to extend their engine supply contract for another five years. According to the The Sunday Times, the new deal will see the U.S. carmaker supply Aston Martin with V8 and V12 engines made at its Cologne plant in Germany.
The deal may also mean Aston Martin will keep the VH platform for at least another five years. Aston Martin’s most important models – the Vantage, DB9 and Vanquish – are all based on derivatives of the VH platform.
The news comes not long after reports of Aston Martin being in talks with other engine suppliers, including Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz, which would have supplied components and offer technical assistance. The Ford deal doesn’t necessarily mean that Aston Martin has quit talks with Daimler, since even if it has reached a deal with Daimler, the UK carmaker would still need Ford engines for a transition period until Daimler’s technology would be ready to install in its cars.
Keeping Ford as engine supplier means that the power plants will probably have to be modified to meet upcoming EU6 emission norms.
Aston Martin received a welcomed investment recently when Italian investment fund Investindustrial bought a 37.5 percent stake in the automaker for £150 million (€176.7 million).
The report also says Aston is nearing the appointment of a new CEO to replace Ulrich Bez, who has managed operations for the last 13 years.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
