Who Owns Aston Martin And Where Are The Cars Built?
Aston Martin was founded in Great Britain in 1913 by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin. Lagonda, another carmaker, was founded in 1899 and became part of Aston Martin in 1947 when both were purchased by British industrialist Sir David Brown. The company is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange as Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) Global Holdings plc.
The company's current product line includes the DBX707, the Vanquish, the Vantage, the DB12, and the Valkyrie hypercar, which pumps out 1,000 horsepower with no turbos. Aston Martin's vehicles are sold in over 50 countries throughout the world. It currently has 2,740 employees. AML Global Holdings also has a partnership with Lucid, the luxury EV manufacturer.
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings is a publicly traded company. According to an analysis of its major shareholders, the top four control 85.49% of all AML Global Holdings shares. They are Ernesto Bertarelli with 27.67%, AML Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll (also known as Lawrence Sheldon Strulović) with 24.56%, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund with 18.04%, and Li Shufu (Eric Li), Chairman of China's Geely Automotive Holdings, with 15.22%. Mercedes-Benz AG, whose Mercedes-AMG division is one of Aston Martin's engine suppliers, holds a 7.83% share, while Lucid holds 3.03%.
Where are Aston Martin cars built?
Aston Martin Lagonda is based in Gaydon, England, where its sports cars are also manufactured. The Gaydon plant also houses a Customer Atrium, where Aston Martin customers can select the materials, colors, and specifications that their vehicles will incorporate. Craftsmen at the Gaydon factory take around 200 man-hours to produce each Aston Martin sports car. Instead of a conventional moving assembly line, Gaydon makes its cars at successive workstations.
As work at each station is completed, the vehicle is wheeled to the next, where the process of hand-building each car continues. The painting process at Gaydon requires a total of 50 hours per car and uses a combination of expert painters and robotic technology. Aston Martin's SUV, the DBX 707, is produced at a separate facility located in St. Athan, Wales. This plant, Aston Martin's newest production facility, was opened on December 6, 2019, and was slated to create up to 750 new jobs when peak production was reached. Aston Martin's purchase of the 90-acre St. Athan site, which was formerly occupied by the UK's Ministry of Defence and used as a training facility for RAF ground and air crews, took place in February of 2016.
The first group of 40 hired Welsh workers were trained at Aston Martin's Gaydon facility, where they built the company's DB11 sports car. This core group then returned to St. Athan, where they trained the additional workers needed to produce the DBX707, which was planned to go into production during the second quarter of 2020.
Where were Aston Martins previously built?
Back in 1947, when Sir David Brown first purchased Aston Martin, he realized that a more modern production facility would be needed for his plans to expand the company. In 1954, he purchased the Salmons coachbuilders, which had been engaged in the coachbuilding craft since 1830. Located in Newport Pagnell, U.K., this purchase launched Aston Martin into a new era. As the corporate headquarters, production facility, and service center for retail customers, Newport Pagnell was the epicenter of all things Aston Martin.
A total of 13,300 cars were built at Newport Pagnell. The last car manufactured there was the V12 Vanquish S Ultimate Edition in 2007 – when production moved to the Gaydon plant. Newport Pagnell continues to function, as it has since 1954, as Aston Martin Works, a facility for providing repair and restoration services, as well as the low-volume production of the DB4 G.T. Continuation series.
Aston Martin first entered the public consciousness through its association as James Bond's choice of vehicle, starting with the DB5 first seen in "Goldfinger." Thus began a long-term relationship between Aston Martin and James Bond, with the cars being featured in many of the Bond movies. Her Majesty The Queen visited the facility in 1966, creating a Royal aura around the brand. Aston Martins are particularly favored by former Prince and now King Charles, who owns two of them, including a DB6 Volante (Convertible) that he converted to run on biofuel made from excess wine and cheese.