Simon Sproule shares Aston Martin's Second Century plans
04 Dec 2015|8,671 views
After his first 150 days as the CEO of Aston Martin, Andy Palmer announced the brand's Second Century plans earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. Aston's Second Century plan is a comprehensive strategy for the ongoing growth and development of the 102-year old British sports car manufacturer, principally in the area of new product development that will drive the growth of the company.
We had the opportunity to meet up with Simon Sproule (SS), Aston Martin's Director of Global Marketing and Communications, who shared with us a little more of what's to come.
SGCM: As part of Aston Martin's Second Century plans, every single model in the company's lineup will be replaced and up to three new models will be added. Could you share a little on what we can expect to see?
SS: The Second Century plan is effectively a six-year plan. Building on what Andy Palmer took over as CEO, the company is on track to replace all of our sports cars and the first replacement would be the DB11 next year, with others to follow. There will be three product pillars and the central focus would be Aston's sports cars.
On one side, we're developing the DBX, a crossover vehicle that will debut in about five years for now. The DBX will be an exciting, entirely new model and segment for Aston. On the other side, we have the third leg of the stool, which will be the Lagonda, a contender in the large luxury sedan market.
Lastly, we will also have a fourth dimension of the product plan, which we call 'Special Series Vehicles.' For example, the Vantage GT12 - a lighter, lower, faster, ultimate version of the V12 Vantage. We aim to produce at least one or two of these a year, in limited volume for exclusivity. That in essence, is the Aston Martin Second Century Plan.
SGCM: The Second Century plan is also said to embrace new powertrain technology, particularly in the area of new product development that will drive the growth of the company. E.g.: An electric version of the Rapide. How soon can we expect to see this develop?
SS: We are interested in electric vehicles and have created a first running prototype of the Rapide in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering. In addition, Aston has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ChinaEquity last month, which calls for ChinaEquity to invest in this electric car and now we are working towards the completion of that agreement.
Simultaneously, we are looking at the technologies that we will need, such as what kind of batteries, motors and so forth. It is not only important for Aston to create powerful V12 sports cars but also cater to an increasing market of premium electric vehicles. If all goes as planned, we are looking at roughly 24 months to production.
SGCM: Aston Martin's relationship with leading Chinese companies such as LeTV shows the potential to connect British craftsmanship with the very latest in Chinese technology. Can you explain more about this partnership?
SS: The partnership with LeTV, a Chinese provider of Internet-enabled televisions, is a push to incorporate high-end Chinese technology into our vehicles. This venture will explore the technical collaboration that focuses on Aston Martin's in-car entertainment.
SGCM: Since Daimler has taken a five percent stake in the company and will be supplying electronics and V8 engines for the next generation of sport cars from its AMG performance division, how much of a role will Aston Martin's partnership with AMG play in the company's Second Century plans?
SS: As part of the deal we signed with Daimler, it will be supplying us with a V8 engine to replace ours. It will also be providing us with the electrical architecture for our future products.
Hence, the next generation of Aston Martins will feature technology from Mercedes Benz and that is a huge advantage for us because developing those systems is very expensive and Daimler has these state-of-the-art technologies. We are still exploring connected car technology with other companies but their systems will have to be able to work with Mercedes'.
SGCM: Will Aston Martin continue making cars with manual transmission or will all Aston's cars have automatic transmission from now on?
SS: It's an interesting debate. We still see a lot of demand for three pedal cars but I can't disclose too much of our future model plans. Despite automatic transmissions getting better and better, there is still a relevant role for the manual transmission in Aston Martins. At the end of the day we make sports cars and there will always be enthusiasts who insist on having one with a manual transmission.
SGCM: Lastly, since Aston Martin is opening up more spots for apprenticeship, will the apprenticeship be open to Singaporeans? If so, how do interested candidates apply?
SS: The apprenticeship is open to everyone from all over the world although it tends to have candidates from the U.K. because that's where we're based. Of course if someone with the right attitude and qualifications applies from Singapore, we would definitely consider the application. Since our regional office is based in Singapore, there have been discussions with the local universities and that will be pretty interesting for us as well.
After his first 150 days as the CEO of Aston Martin, Andy Palmer announced the brand's Second Century plans earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. Aston's Second Century plan is a comprehensive strategy for the ongoing growth and development of the 102-year old British sports car manufacturer, principally in the area of new product development that will drive the growth of the company.
We had the opportunity to meet up with Simon Sproule (SS), Aston Martin's Director of Global Marketing and Communications, who shared with us a little more of what's to come.
SGCM: As part of Aston Martin's Second Century plans, every single model in the company's lineup will be replaced and up to three new models will be added. Could you share a little on what we can expect to see?
SS: The Second Century plan is effectively a six-year plan. Building on what Andy Palmer took over as CEO, the company is on track to replace all of our sports cars and the first replacement would be the DB11 next year, with others to follow. There will be three product pillars and the central focus would be Aston's sports cars.
On one side, we're developing the DBX, a crossover vehicle that will debut in about five years for now. The DBX will be an exciting, entirely new model and segment for Aston. On the other side, we have the third leg of the stool, which will be the Lagonda, a contender in the large luxury sedan market.
Lastly, we will also have a fourth dimension of the product plan, which we call 'Special Series Vehicles.' For example, the Vantage GT12 - a lighter, lower, faster, ultimate version of the V12 Vantage. We aim to produce at least one or two of these a year, in limited volume for exclusivity. That in essence, is the Aston Martin Second Century Plan.
SGCM: The Second Century plan is also said to embrace new powertrain technology, particularly in the area of new product development that will drive the growth of the company. E.g.: An electric version of the Rapide. How soon can we expect to see this develop?
SS: We are interested in electric vehicles and have created a first running prototype of the Rapide in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering. In addition, Aston has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ChinaEquity last month, which calls for ChinaEquity to invest in this electric car and now we are working towards the completion of that agreement.
Simultaneously, we are looking at the technologies that we will need, such as what kind of batteries, motors and so forth. It is not only important for Aston to create powerful V12 sports cars but also cater to an increasing market of premium electric vehicles. If all goes as planned, we are looking at roughly 24 months to production.
SGCM: Aston Martin's relationship with leading Chinese companies such as LeTV shows the potential to connect British craftsmanship with the very latest in Chinese technology. Can you explain more about this partnership?
SS: The partnership with LeTV, a Chinese provider of Internet-enabled televisions, is a push to incorporate high-end Chinese technology into our vehicles. This venture will explore the technical collaboration that focuses on Aston Martin's in-car entertainment.
SGCM: Since Daimler has taken a five percent stake in the company and will be supplying electronics and V8 engines for the next generation of sport cars from its AMG performance division, how much of a role will Aston Martin's partnership with AMG play in the company's Second Century plans?
SS: As part of the deal we signed with Daimler, it will be supplying us with a V8 engine to replace ours. It will also be providing us with the electrical architecture for our future products.
Hence, the next generation of Aston Martins will feature technology from Mercedes Benz and that is a huge advantage for us because developing those systems is very expensive and Daimler has these state-of-the-art technologies. We are still exploring connected car technology with other companies but their systems will have to be able to work with Mercedes'.
SGCM: Will Aston Martin continue making cars with manual transmission or will all Aston's cars have automatic transmission from now on?
SS: It's an interesting debate. We still see a lot of demand for three pedal cars but I can't disclose too much of our future model plans. Despite automatic transmissions getting better and better, there is still a relevant role for the manual transmission in Aston Martins. At the end of the day we make sports cars and there will always be enthusiasts who insist on having one with a manual transmission.
SGCM: Lastly, since Aston Martin is opening up more spots for apprenticeship, will the apprenticeship be open to Singaporeans? If so, how do interested candidates apply?
SS: The apprenticeship is open to everyone from all over the world although it tends to have candidates from the U.K. because that's where we're based. Of course if someone with the right attitude and qualifications applies from Singapore, we would definitely consider the application. Since our regional office is based in Singapore, there have been discussions with the local universities and that will be pretty interesting for us as well.
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