Fancy an Aston Martin electric vehicle (EV)? You're in luck, as the British luxury automaker is partnering with EV manufacturer Lucid Motors to bring new, high-end models to the market.
Aston Martin reportedly paid Lucid in cash and stocks for access to the latter's EV expertise, which includes current and future powertrain and battery technologies. Lucid currently sells the Air, with a second model, codenamed Gravity, set to launch in 2024 as an SUV.
Lucid will now help the British brand develop an in-house battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform as part of a five-year, £2-billion ($4.115 billion) investment in electrification programmes.
"The supply agreement with Lucid is a game changer for the future EV-led growth of Aston Martin. Based on our strategy and requirements, we selected Lucid, gaining access to the industry’s highest performance and most innovative technologies for our future BEV products," said Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin.
Aston Martin still has ongoing partnerships with Mercedes-Benz and Geely. The alliance with Mercedes had to be amended to make way for the Lucid collaboration, but Mercedes will reportedly keep its Board of Directors representation and 9.4-percent share in the company. Meanwhile, the Chinese brand Geely still owns 17 percent of Aston Martin.
With a veritable host of global partners, Aston Martin is in prime position to reinvigorate its brand as it transitions to an electrified future. It may not be long until we see the automaker's first-ever, full-fledged EV.