Sports car maker accelerates its growth plans

Aston Martin Lagonda has reiterated it is “now investing for growth” as it revealed plans to treble its workforce over a five-year period.

The sports car group has also chosen Silverstone as the home for the Aston Martin Test and Development Centre, which will become a hub for prototype vehicle testing, focused on chassis dynamics and high-speed handling.

Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin president and chief executive, said: “The company is now investing for growth across the Aston Martin and Lagonda brands. I am particularly pleased that we can now call Silverstone home for dynamic testing and development.”

The manufacturer has also revealed plans to open a central London office.

With the addition of Silverstone and London, Aston Martin Lagonda will operate out of 10 locations across the UK and said it is “set to employ 5,000 people” by the end of 2022. In 2017, the group employed around 1,700 people.

Its global headquarters are in Gaydon, which is also home to its design studio, sports car manufacturing, commercial operations, and research and development.

“Aston Martin will soon become one of the leading automotive employers in the UK”, added Dr Palmer. “Specifically, we are currently one of the largest automotive recruiters in the UK, investing approximately 10% of the total automotive investments in the UK, creating exciting new opportunities across engineering, design, manufacturing and commercial operations.”

Aston Martin is widely reported to be working on a stock market listing which could value the company at around £4bn.

The business has been transformed by its Second Century Plan. It is now expanding its manufacturing footprint with the construction of a new plant at St Athan in Wales, due to open in 2019, and has resumed production of specialist models at Newport Pagnell for the first time in 10 years.

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