Aston Martin has committed to dropping its pure-ICE engines within four years, according to reports. The firm has stated that it will be fully electrified from 2026, although an element of combustion engines will remain because hybrids will form part of the mix.
Nevertheless, it represents a change of heart from the British sports car manufacturer, which had previously said electrified vehicles would form only part of its line-up. However, rival Bentley has gone further, with a target of being electric-only by 2030.
Chairman Lawrence Stroll told the Financial Times: “I can’t tell you that 100% of Aston Martin customers want an electric vehicle.
“People still want the smell, the noise [of combustion-engined cars]. We’re gradually going to get to full EV, but we will continue offering both [electric and hybrids].
“There will still be an electrification component, but if someone wants an internal combustion engine in 2028, that will happen.”
Stroll was speaking at the launch of the DBX 707, the most powerful luxury SUV from a mainstream manufacturer. Despite all the focus on future electrification, the 707 uses a significantly uprated twin-turbo V8 producing 697bhp and 664lb ft. CEO Tobias Moers told Autocar that he expects this version to make up 60% of DBX sales when deliveries start in Q2 2022.
Further updates are also on the way for the popular DBX, which will be the first hybridised Aston Martin when a mild-hybrid version is added later this year. That DBX will be for China only, due to that country’s high import tax on performance vehicles, before a PHEV DBX appears in 2024 for all markets as part of the SUV’s facelift.
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This is why Tobias Moers is only the second worst automotive CEO and Thierry Bollore the worst.
Aston is walking the company through a hybrid era.
Bollore is throwing every one of Jaguar's products under the bus and thinks he can instantly reinvent Jaguar as a fully electric company.
Incredible that Moers knows better how to manage a car company!
Moers and Bollore are both obliterating great marques. Shameful. I'm not opposed to EVs. I'm opposed to only-EVs, to using someone else's off-the-shelf engines and to "infotainment" being the most important thing - the "key" - to distinguishing Aston from Mercedes, as Moers said. Reprehensible.
They can say what that want but by the time 2026 comes round everyone would have forgotten what was said in 2022.
Just look at Volvo, no one killed or seriously injured in a new vovlo from 2021 onwards, ah ah
FORD 4 years ago they said they'd have 16 BEV's in 2022, ah ah.
You are completely correct. No one will remember. The only way Volvo were going to achieve this was to stop selling cars. As for Ford, they dont make 16 different cars, so what were the 16 cars ever going to be?
Indeed, neither is really suited to managing historic car companies... but Bollore is worse and there is so much more at stake with his odd 'strategy'... a strategy only made by someone who doesn't understand the Jaguar marque. At least Moers comes from the tuning scene so should baulk at dropping ICE engines entirely. Mild-hybrid V12, bitte sehr.