Aston Martin pulled an old switcheroo on promises to electrify. Instead, the brand will keep building gas-powered GT cars and SUVs.
Some things just work. A Supermarine Spitfire singing its song at low altitude. A cold beer on a hot day. Oh, and a powerful engine pulling Aston Martin GT cars in a posh performance of engine notes and tire chirp. Well, the company’s executive chairman confirmed that the gas-powered Aston isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Lawrence Stroll says luxury performance car marque Aston Martin will continue producing gas-powered cars in the 2030s
Aston Martin cars won’t be ditching its sonorous V8s anytime soon. However, before anti-EV folks tout the death of electric vehicles, the brand is planning on releasing its first electric vehicles in the not-too-distant future. But they won’t be replacing the internal combustion engine (ICE) side of their lineup anytime soon.
Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll (yes, that Stroll) claims that the brand’s faithful aren’t ready to part with the “sounds and smells” of a gas-powered GT car, per Car and Driver. That’s great news for the brand’s fans. What’s more, spy shots suggest that the company might be reviving its 12-cylinder aspirations for the next generation of the marque’s range-topping GT cars.
Consequently, the announcement isn’t a huge shock. Many of the automakers that established radical all-or-mostly EV production targets by the decade’s end are behind on their goals. Moreover, EV adoption across the industry is losing vital momentum. Stroll asserts there will “always be demand” for ICE cars like Aston Martin’s V8-powered DB12 platform, per Autocar.
Of course, the company still has plans to release four vehicles on its bespoke electric architecture. “We planned to launch at the end of 2025 and were ready to do so, but it seems there is a lot more hype in EVs, politically driven or whatever, than consumer demand, particularly at an Aston Martin price point.”
However, the move to keep ICE propulsion in Aston Martin cars isn’t a total abandonment of green technology. Stroll told Autocar the company “decided to invest very heavily in PHEVs.” As such, Stroll says Aston Martin’s hybrid initiatives will “play out for a long while and we will have an extensive offering.” Most excitingly, the brand’s executive chair says we’ll see a hybridized V12 in the future.