Aston Martin Kills Lagonda EV, Will Use Badge On Posh Astons Instead

Aston Martin has scrapped plans to resurrect the Lagonda name for a bespoke all-electric flagship sedan.

The company announced this week that it would build EVs from 2025, but a planned Lagonda halo model based on the 2019 All-Terrain concept won’t be one of them.

The All Terrain show car followed a year after the Lagonda Vision Concept sedan, and created a stir with its sleek shooting brake styling and an interior that was clearly designed with more focus on the occupants being driven, rather than the ones doing the driving.

The car was slated to start production in Wales in 2022, although the concept’s autonomous technology and rumored plans for solid state batteries would have likely stayed on the show stand, at least initially.

But now the whole project has been iced. Instead, the Brit firm has decided to throw all of its EV energy into creating zero-emissions cars for its better-recognized Aston Martin brand.

That doesn’t mean the end for Lagonda, however. Next month CEO Tobias Moers is expected to outline a plan that involves using the Lagonda badge on exclusive versions of Aston Martin models.

If that sounds very similar to how Mercedes treats its Maybach badge these days, then perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Moers worked at Daimler AG for over 25 years, rising to CEO of AMG before joining Aston Martin in 2020.

It’s unclear how different the new Lagonda models will be from base Aston products. The Mercedes-Maybach GLS shares its body with the regular Mercedes GLS, but receives different bumpers, grille and interior trim. It’s very possible that Aston could create a Lagonda version of its DBX SUV more quickly, and at a fraction of the cost required to turn the All-Terrain concept into a production car.

Aston had a tough 2020, seeing sales slide by 32 per cent and losses quadruple, in part due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. But its return to F1 this season should boost visibility, and the DBX is proving popular, suggesting that developing a Maybach version could be a very smart move if Aston Martin is to achieve its target of earning £500 million ($691.5 million) on revenues of £2 billion ($2.76 billion) by 2025.