Aston Martin and Lucid will work together to make electric motors for the next generation of Aston Martin’s electric cars. Aston Martin’s plans for electric vehicles include an SUV, three sports cars, and an SUV with 1,500 horsepower. The Aston Martin electric vehicle (EV) will come out in 2025. Aston Martin news has often been like a car soap story in the past few years. In the last five years, the British company that makes sports cars has lost two CEOs, had an unpleasant initial public offering (IPO), and gained more co-owners. Mercedes-Benz and the Chinese company Geely bought into the group run by Canadian billionaire and Aston’s executive chairman Lawrence Stroll. As Aston works toward an electric future, it has bought a stake in Lucid. According to the deal, Lucid will provide most of the technology for Aston’s following line of all-electric cars. The first one will come out in 2025. In return for its knowledge, Lucid Motors will get $132 million in cash and a $100 million investment worth 3.7% of Aston Martin. Aston Martin will also likely spend at least $225 million on engine parts. Stroll told reporters at the company’s offices in Gaydon this afternoon that taking over Aston was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. He said, “I knew I didn’t understand some of them, and I knew I did understand others.” The problems included dealing with too much inventory, which stopped production for a year, and then getting the money to make new models, which included an agreement with Mercedes to give technology. This deal allowed the two companies to work together more closely. For example, Aston’s future electric vehicles (EVs) could be based on Mercedes’s electrical architecture and V-8 engines made by AMG. Even though Stroll quickly pointed out that the current Mercedes-Benz partnership for pure combustion and hybrid powertrains will continue, the new deal with Lucid makes that unlikely. The RapidE electric car was Aston Martin’s first attempt at making an EV. It came out almost ten years ago. Even though only one prototype was made, it was meant to be made in small numbers. Later, the company wanted to create a new electric vehicle (EV) platform for cars with the Lagonda name, but those plans were scrapped when the company had its first financial problems. But since high-end rivals like Bentley, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce are making electric cars, Aston’s experience with Lucid seems like an excellent way to quickly get to the top of its segment. No power. Aston won’t have any drive. But Lucid Group CEO Peter Rawlinson revealed at the Aston conference that the contract is for the company’s next-generation electric motor technology. The triple-motor Lucid Air Sapphire, which people look forward to, will have more than 1200 horsepower. Roberto Fedeli, the CTO of Aston, says that the company is working on a scalable electric car platform that will be made of bonded metal like the company’s gas-powered cars. On the other hand, Lucid will provide both the twin rear motors and the small-cell battery technology needed to make low packs that match the look of the Aston. Fedeli says that Aston plans to make its front motors, and the EV will use a version of the front engines used in the following mid-engined plug-in hybrid Valhalla hypercar. He also said that the company is working with the Aston Martin Formula 1 team to build what looks like the “streamline mode” of active drag reduction for the GMA T.50. A quad-motor system has a high power output of 1500 horsepower and allows torque vectoring at both ends. Aston Martin is also making several other electric cars. Given how the high-end market works, the first one will be a nice SUV. Also, Stroll says that the plan is to make EVs of different sizes, like the brand’s three other front-engined sports cars. But these won’t be electric versions of vehicles that use gas, like the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore. It makes sense that Aston wants to build company-owned flagship stores, the first in New York. They’ll need a lot of floor area to show off their products. Aston Martin has said before that by the time its first electric vehicle comes out in 2025, all its current sports cars will have been replaced with better models. Aside from the DB12, which has already been shown to the public, new versions of the Vantage and DBS will soon be available. Next year, you can buy the Valhalla and an updated DBX that can be used as a plug-in hybrid. Before that, Aston Martin will celebrate its 110th birthday this year by releasing a limited-edition car. The most crucial problem is that money is getting worse. Between 2020 and 2022, Aston’s sales more than doubled, and the company plans to start making more money than it spent in 2019 (becoming “cash flow positive”). Could Aston Martin’s unpredictable luck be about to change significantly?
