Is Aston Martin cancelling Rapide E production?
In April 2019, Aston Martin presented its first electric model, the Rapide E, which was to be built in a limited edition of 155 units. Now a British magazine reports that not even these few electric cars will see the light of day.
Autocar cited company circles, claiming that Aston Martin will not produce its first fully electric model and instead, keep the EV as a research project to promote the manufacturer’s future electrification efforts.
The 800-volt electric car has had years of development. The production version Aston Martin was presented in 2019 and last summer, a near-production car was presented at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and sent around the race track in front of an audience. Although the model was almost entirely developed, now its tires apparently won’t be touching the asphalt on public roads.
The decision not to take the model to production was most likely due to financial pressure since the British car manufacturer has been struggling for the past few years and recently had to issue a profit warning. CEO Andy Palmer described 2019 as a “very disappointing year”, but made no mention of the future of the Rapide E.
Instead, the company wants to use its limited financial resources for the DBX. The British company hopes that the electric SUV model, which is to be delivered from the second quarter of 2020, will generate increasing numbers of units and revenues. The DBX will not be built in the new plant in St. Athan, but rather in the factory in Wales Aston Martin has dubbed Home of Electrification. This is also where the Rapide E and later other electric cars were to be produced.
As yet, the famous British carmaker has not made an official statement about the production status of the Rapide E, or its phase-out. The company has not disclosed how many orders it received for the model to date – nor whether there will be any refunds to those with pre-orders for this reason.
The Aston Martin brand had not said much about its electrification plans after the Rapide E. In 2018, Aston Martin announced they were turning their Lagonda brand into a pure EV brand. Autocar has not shed any light on the future of Lagonda models.
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