VIPs do not wait for delivery!

Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin, told Arab News that VIP customers in the region were invited to the company’s headquarters at the beginning of the selling process more than a year ago, and were shown the DB11 confidentially. The company put their orders in the system early enough so they did not have to wait for delivery.

Dismissing the negative effect of Brexit, he said it is good for his company. “As an 80 percent export company Aston Martin benefits from a depre- ciated sterling against the dollar and the euro,” he said. He believes there is still “emotional attachment” to the fact that Aston Martin is made in Britain.

The company is building another factory in Wales and will create its first luxury sport utility vehicle (SUV) — the DXB — there within three years.

Palmer said that his “Second Century” plan was working. Under the plan, the company will launch a new car every year for the next seven years and a new derivate will also be launched every nine months.

Aston Martin also started another model line of mid-engined hypercars, the first of which is named Valkyrie. So the future Aston Martin will have the sports GTs, SUVs, the mid-engine halo line and the Lagonda. The company is also working on an electric Rapide.

He admitted there is scope for improving Aston Martin’s performance in the Middle East and confirmed that Lagonda sells better in the region and that 60 percent of the sales are bespoke cars by “Q.” He summed up Aston Martin as an independent British company that makes beautiful cars.