Two years ago, Aston Martin announced 300 redundancies and a £35.9 million loss. Today Aston Martin is worth over £4 billion, having enjoyed the biggest period of growth in its 100+ year history. So how has Aston Martin become synonymous with wealth, power, prestige, and quality?
5 Ways Aston Martin Has Become An Automotive Industry Leader:
1. They Build Better Cars
The term ‘luxury’ is thrown around a lot and can de-value the term ‘luxury cars’. Aston Martin prides itself on defining that luxury label, never opting to produce more units than would lower their status. An Aston Martin is special. They know it, they need it, and they worked hard to preserve that status as a symbol when others would have folded under pressure to expand.
Whereas other Automotive giants like Ferrari make 9,000 units a year, Aston Martin make just over 5,000. At a factory for mass-market cars, a new unit is started every few seconds. A new Aston Martin is started once every 26 minutes. A unit takes 200 hours to build and pass inspection, meaning quality is always top priority.
2. They’ve Expanded Their Presence In The Sports Car World...
Aston Martin sets the benchmark for quality sportscars thank to world-famous models Vanquish, DB11, and Vantage. New models are being unveiled in coming years, as part of their aggressive expansion strategy.
A limited edition hypercar called the Valkyrie will produced this year in conjunction with Red Bull. Just 150 will be made, sold for around £2.5 million each. It’s developments like this that cement Aston Martin as industry leaders in the supercar world.
3. …While Also Tapping Into Nostalgia
Although times have changed, Aston Martin still places an importance on heritage. Old-fashioned methods of manufacture, including some elements which still involved being made by hand, mean Aston Martin cars are works of art in their own right. Craftspeople are sometimes second or even third-generation, with skills being honed and passed down through generations. Everything in the car is authentic: leather, metal, wood – it’s all the genuine article.
4. They’re Uniquely British
Since their inception, Aston Martins have defined British automotive style. Every Aston Martin in the world was made in the UK. Both their factories are in England, located in Gaydon and St Athan. Production on new lines will begin there in 2019 and 2020, including on the new Lagonda model, which Aston Martin claims will be the world’s first zero-emissions luxury vehicle.
5. James Bond Has One
Last on the list of ways that Aston Martin dominates the Automotive market is the special relationship between Aston Martin and a world-famous film series. The Aston Martin DB5 appeared in one of the very first James bond films: Goldfinger in 1965. Since then, that particular model has appeared in six more Bond films. Aston Martin cars have appeared in 12 different James Bond films altogether, all the way up to the most recent Spectre. A staple of the franchise, Aston Martins are innately linked to the super spy. Whether cruising through London or locked in a car-chase, James Bond’s Aston Martin always outruns, outmaneuvers, and outclasses the opposition.
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