Aston Martin races into future with china plans

Revered UK marque sees more growth in key market with new model rollouts

The 105-year old British carmaker Aston Martin is brimming with energy and dynamism as it races into its Second Century plan - and CEO Andy Palmer expects China to play a larger part in the road ahead.

Two years into the campaign, designed to ensure its sustained future development, the iconic brand reminiscent of James Bond saw a nine-year sales high of over 5,000 cars in 2017.

The high-performance super sports car maker said its sales were up 58 percent year-on-year, driven by strong orders for the DB 11, the Vanquish S and its special series vehicles.

"China played a huge part in our success of last year," said Palmer in an exclusive interview with China Daily. "It was the region where we saw the most growth (in 2017) - 89 percent versus 2016."

Palmer said the continued rollout of the company's new model pipeline, including Aston Martin's first electric vehicle in 2019, would further improve its market share in the key market.

China, the world's biggest car market, surpassed the United States as the world's largest market for electric cars and other new-energy vehicles in 2015.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that the country already has at least 1.72 million of these cars on the road.

The Chinese government expects sales of new-energy cars to hit 2 million units a year by 2020, and they are set to account for one fifth of new cars sold in the country in 2025.

"Our aim is to develop a product portfolio that appeals to a range of Chinese customers," Palmer said.

"In 2019 we will launch our first SUV, along with our first electric vehicle, the RapidE. We see China being one of the largest markets for these models."

Palmer said the model would spearhead the development of its zero-emission vehicle strategy and by the mid-2020s, all Aston Martin cars will have a hybrid or electric option.

Specific customers

The CEO added that as Aston Martin develops its products, it targets specific customers.

For example, the new Vantage is aimed at a slightly younger customer who wants a more aggressive car, as customers in China tend to be younger than their Western counterparts.

Palmer said that in developing its forthcoming SUV model, the DBX, Aston Martin takes into account features that resonate in the Chinese market.

These features include people liking the feeling of protection and having a higher driving position, Palmer said, adding that China would be among the first markets for the launch.

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that China sold 10.25 million SUVs last year, accounting for 41.5 percent of all passenger car sales in the country.

To better meet the specific demands of Chinese customers, Aston Martin has done a significant amount of local research.

"As an example, we have held internal research clinics with a group of potential Chinese customers to understand their needs and wants," Palmer said.

"The design collaboration that has just been announced with Tongji University in Shanghai shows our commitment to developing products specific to the Chinese market and taking into consideration our Chinese customers' demands."

He also noticed that Aston Martin has a larger female following in China.

"On some of our carlines female buyers in China make up over 30 percent of our customer base, which means as we develop future cars we're paying more attention to those features not only of interest to male customers, but also important to female customers."

Aston Martin said it will soon introduce into China the DB11 NC 500 edition, which is named after Scotland's North Coast 500 route, one of the world's best driving roads.

With the biennial Beijing auto show months away, Palmer said that the carmaker will showcase a lineup of heavyweight cars for Chinese customers.

"The products we show will be a surprise, but I can assure you we will have a fantastic range of cars on show," he said.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/02/2018 page19)