The British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin first announced a plan to offer full electric cars back in 2015. Last summer, they got a bit more serious about advancing that cause, vowing to sell only electrified cars, either hybrid or full EV, within 8 years or so. Aston CEO Andy Palmer also believes that full electric vehicles will account for about twenty-five percent of their total sales volume by 2030.
In order to bring this to fruition, Aston Martin needs to partner with a Chinese company to exchange technology. Despite Aston’s stellar 2017 sales, the company simply doesn’t have the money, or deep pocket parent company, to engineer a solution solo.
Kicking off this Aston EV proliferation, the company promises an all-electric version of the Rapide, called the RapidE. The RapidE will replace its V12 with an electric drivetrain, and will be limited to 155 units, due to go on sale next year. We don’t yet know anything else; power, or range, for example.
The RapidE, it seems, is just the beginning, as Aston are currently talking to Contemporary Amperex Technology, a Chinese battery supplier, about a partnership. China is getting ever more enthusiastic about EV investment, as it is now the world’s largest for market for EV cars, outstripping demand even in the US. China have been key to EV growth, providing large government subsidies and ever more stringent emission regulations. Aston wants to continue selling in the Chinese market, and realizes that internal combustion may be on its last legs, in Asia at least.
Knowing just how quickly an EV can accelerate, this is really the next logical step for sports car and supercar manufacturers. Customers demand ever quicker and ever faster transport, and are willing to pay top dollar to get them. If Aston wants to secure their future as a fast car seller, this is a wise move to invest in it.