- Aston Martin will keep its V8 and V12 engines until at least 2033.
- The British brand can source EV components from Lucid and Mercedes.
- Boss Adrian Hallmark isn’t interested in turning Aston’s ICE models into PHEVs.
Aston Martin has labeled itself as a “BEV delayer,” confirming that it won’t launch an all-electric model until next decade and that it remains firmly committed to its V8 and V12 engines. Evidently, Aston Martin’s largest shareholder, billionaire Lawrence Stroll, has absolutely no interest in launching an EV in the vein of the controversial Ferrari Luce.
The British brand had been aiming to launch an EV in 2030, but shifting consumer sentiment has allowed it to push that date back. Now, the company only needs to think about building an EV before 2035 to meet regulations in select markets, and isn’t even worried about setting a firm date at this stage.
Read: The Aston Martin Valhalla Is About To Become Even More Exotic
“We only need BEVs to be compliant for legislative reasons [in certain markets] just before 2035,” Aston Martin chief executive Adrian Hallmark confirmed to Autocar. “I’m not going to give an absolute date, because it’s imprecise. It could be 2035, it might be 2033, but it’s in that three-year window. It’s not 2031.”
Aston Martin Has EV Deals With Lucid And Mercedes
When Aston Martin does release an EV, it will have the latest technologies at its disposal. The company has a deal with Lucid that’ll give it access to the American brand’s latest systems, and also plans to strengthen its relationship with Mercedes-Benz for future electric powertrains and electronics.
Aston Martin’s apparent reluctance to rush into the EV era is something that should be appreciated by the company’s customers. In the same interview, Hallmark confirmed Aston Martin has a “roadmap” to keep its current V8 and V12 engines alive through to the end of 2035, meaning we almost have a decade left to enjoy these fabulous powertrains.
More Hybrids Are Coming
Helping to keep these engines feeling fresh will be some form of hybridization, although Hallmark confirmed that they won’t use plug-in hybrids, declaring that he doesn’t like the added weight of these more complex systems. Curiously, the Aston Martin Valhalla uses a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with a plug-in hybrid that includes three electric motors and a 6.1 kWh battery pack. Evidently, it will remain the only PHEV in Aston Martin’s range.
As for the battery-electric vehicles that Aston Martin will eventually need to launch, Hallmark says the firm has the time to decide what technologies it would like to introduce.
“Looking at BEVs in the future, even if [we launch our first in] 2033, we’ve got three years where we can keep looking, keep thinking and keep evaluating different technologies and how they’re changing, and the markets and the legislation,” he said. “And it’s only then that we would need to kick off investment. So today we’ve got very low-level investment, but it’s research and study, not even single-digit millions of investment.”
