NEW DELHI: Aston Martin, a legendary name in the world of cars and synonymous with luxury has unveiled the first sport utility vehicle (SUV) in its 106-year history hoping for a turnaround in fortune.
The car, christened as DBX, jumps into a race of automakers intending to capitalise on buyers’ seemingly endless appetite for powerful and expensive SUVs, especially in China and the US.
It will compete against the likes of Bentley’s $165,000, Bentayga and Rolls-Royce’s $325,000 Cullinan on the high-end side; on the sportier side, Lamborghini’s $200,000 Urus and Porsche’s $126,500 Cayenne Turbo.
Set to be built in Aston Martin’s second manufacturing facility in St Athan, Wales, the new model is on sale now, with first deliveries scheduled to begin in Q2 of 2020.
Priced at $189,900, the DBX is designed to broaden the brand’s appeal in Asia and to female buyers. While about 10 per cent of the buyers of its signature line-up of sports cars, including the six-figure sum DB11 and Vantage models are women, more interestingly, half of its customers in China are female where the firm chose to launch the car.
“I can’t emphasise enough how incredibly exciting and significant DBX is for Aston Martin. We have both delivered this model through our expertise, but also by garnering invaluable experience and knowledge from external counsel, including our Female Advisory Board,” said Andy Palmer, president and group CEO, Aston Martin Lagonda.
Under the hood, DBX will have 542-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V-8 engine borrowed from the handsome DB11 coupe.
It also gets 516 pound-feet of torque and will go zero to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, with a top speed of 181 mph. The brand that makes James Bonds’ favourite cars has gone through several highs and lows. Aston Martin’s stock has lost over three-fourths of its value since the IPO.
Once-coveted Vantage, DBS, and DB11 Volante cars have piled up at dealerships. The management has issued financial warnings and has been forced to raise additional funds to stabilise the business.
And Aston shares, which made their debut in October 2018 in the first IPO of a British carmaker, was received tepidly by the markets earning the dubious honour of the worst-performing among the UK’s 350 biggest companies this year.
“We’re not happy with the way the year has gone,” Palmer said. As Aston strives to turn around its performance, winning new customers will only be the key to its success. So far this year, it is making a loss.
Meanwhile, the wider car market has been affected by declining sales in China, trade war worries between the world’s two biggest economies, a slump in diesel sales in Europe and the need to invest heavily in electrification.
Aston, for its part, which as sold fewer than 90,000 cars in all hopes to churn out 14,000 vehicles annually worldwide by 2023, bolstered largely with the advent of the DBX.