Aston Martin glides into Wales

Aston Martin will create 750 high-skill jobs in south Wales after announcing it will build its new luxury DBX Concept in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Work on the factory in St Athan will begin in 2017, with production of the all-electric 4×4 valued at £160,000 beginning three years later.

Aston Martin has also said the new site will include a skills academy which will make St Athan and the Vale of Glamorgan a centre of excellence.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said, ‘We will work together in building on the strong foundations of our partnership to nurture a prosperous and rewarding future for this iconic company and its skilled workforce in Wales.’

St Athan won the contract worth hundreds of millions of pounds ahead of 20 other locations worldwide following a two-year process. Apart from the 750 immediate jobs, it’s expected to create hundreds of other jobs in the supply chain.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart AM said, ‘We had an excellent relationship with Aston Martin at official and ministerial level. The important thing for us was ensuring that Aston Martin stayed in the UK, a fine company for the UK.

‘We fought very hard to ensure we were on the list and now we’ve achieved having it. This is a win not just for Wales but for the UK.’

The car will continue Aston Martin’s move to appeal to younger, female customers, with new Aston Martin chief executive Dr Andy Palmer saying that he foresaw a world where luxury GT travel is also practical, more family-friendly and more environmentally responsible.

He added that Wales had proposed ‘the best offer’, explaining, ‘I don’t simply mean in terms of money. What really swung it was the passion and the professionalism of the people we dealt with in Wales.’