Aston Martin delays BEV launch

UK luxusry carmaker Aston Martin has delayed the launch of its first BEV by a year to 2026, citing “changes in the market”.

Last year the firm announced that it would launching four new BEVs in four years, starting in 2025.

Whilst it still plans to launch the four vehicles, it will now do so after it has brought two plug-in hybrids to market.

“We will be coming out with a couple of very important plug-in hybrids before we launch our full BEV,” CEO Doug Lafferty told the firm’s full year results this week.

The firm will therefore have a blended drive train approach between 2025 and 2030, including ICE vehicles, PHEVs and BEVs — all of which models it says will sell into the 2030s.

The move follows similar strategy shifts from OEMs including Detroit's GM and Germany's Mercedes. European conglomerate Stellantis is also now developing a BEV platform onto which ICE models can be built.

“What has changed slightly since really we all had this last conversation? We feel more immediate consumer demand for a PHEV plug-in hybrid before we go to full BEV. I do not think we are the only ones feeling that,” says Lafferty.

Aston Martin will invest £350mn ($443mn) in new product developments in 2024, and around £2bn in “advanced technologies” over the five-year period from 2023 to 2027, “with investment shifting from ICE to BEV technology”.

Last year Aston Martin formed a supply agreement with Sino-US EV maker Lucid for the supply of advanced electric powertrains and battery systems to support the former’s BEV development strategy.

The agreement will stay in place despite the short-term pivot to BEVs.

“Access to Lucid’s current and future powertrain and battery technology will support the creation of a bespoke, singular BEV platform, suitable for all product types from hypercar to SUV," Aston Martin says.