Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars. It was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.
From 1994 until 2007, Aston Martin was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group when it was formed in 2000. In March 2007, a consortium of investors led by Prodrive boss David Richards purchased 90% of Aston Martin for £479 million, with Ford retaining a £40 million stake. In December 2012, the Italian private equity fund Investindustrial signed a deal to buy 37.5% of Aston Martin, investing £150 million as a capital increase.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two had joined forces as Bamford & Martin the previous year to sell cars made by Singer from premises in Callow Street, London where they also serviced GWK and Calthorpe vehicles. Martin raced specials at Aston Hill near Aston Clinton, and the pair decided to make their own vehicles. The first car to be named Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini.
They acquired premises at Henniker Mews in Kensington and produced their first car in March 1915. Production could not start because of the outbreak of World War I, and Martin joined the Admiralty and Bamford the Royal Army Service Corps. All machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company.
On 12 March 2007, a consortium led by Prodrive chairman David Richards purchased Aston Martin for £475m (US$848m). The group included American investment banker John Singers and two Kuwaiti companies, Investment Dar and Adeem Investment; Prodrive had no financial involvement in the deal. Ford kept a stake in the company valued at £40m (US$70m).
To demonstrate the V8 Vantage's durability across hazardous terrain and promote the car in China, the first east-west crossing of the Asian Highway was undertaken between June and August 2007. A pair of Britons drove 12,089 km (7,512 miles) from Tokyo to Istanbul before joining the European motorway network for another 3,259 km (2,025 miles) to London. The promotion was so successful the company opened dealerships in Shanghai and Beijing within three months.
On 19 July 2007, the Newport Pagnell plant rolled out the last of nearly 13,000 cars made there since 1955, a Vanquish S. The Tickford Street facility was converted to Aston Martin's service and restoration department. UK production is now concentrated at Gaydon on the former RAF V-bomber airfield. In March 2008 the company announced a partnership with Magna Steyr to outsource manufacture of over 2,000 cars annually to Graz, Austria, reassuringly stating: "The continuing growth and success of the company is based upon Gaydon as the focal point and heart of the business, with the design and engineering of all Aston Martin products continuing to be carried out there."
More dealers in Europe and the new pair in China brought the total to 120 in 28 countries.
On 1 September 2008, Aston Martin announced the revival of the Lagonda marque, proposing a concept to be shown in 2009 to coincide with the brand's 100th anniversary. The first production cars are slated for 2012.
In December 2008, Aston Martin announced it would cut its workforce from 1,850 to 1,250.
The first four-door Aston Martin Rapide sports cars rolled out of the Magna Steyr factory in Graz, Austria in 2010.[ The contract manufacturer provides dedicated facilities to ensure compliance with the exacting standards of Aston Martin and other marques, including Mercedes-Benz. Ulrich Bez has publicly speculated about outsourcing all of Aston Martin's operations with the exception of marketing. In September 2011 it was announced Rapide production would be returned to Gaydon in the second half of 2012, restoring all manufacture there.
In late 2012, Investment Dar reviewed its stake, with Mahindra & Mahindra emerging as a potential bidder for as much as half of Aston Martin. Instead, Italian private equity fund Investindustrial signed a deal on 6 December 2012 to buy 37.5% of Aston Martin, investing £150 million as a capital increase. This was confirmed by Aston Martin in a press release on 7 December 2012. In April 2013 it was reported that Dr Ulrich Bez would be leaving his role as chief executive officer to take up a more ambassadorial position widely seen as the first move by the new shareholders in reviewing the leadership and strategy of the company.
Aston Martin V8 and V12 engines are still manufactured by Ford in Cologne, Germany by an agreement that lasts until 2013. Ford, which does not use either of the engines in its vehicle range and derives little benefit from the arrangement, has declined to comment on its future.
On July 25, 2013 Aston Martin reached a partnership with Mercedes-AMG to supply new components and power plants for the next generation line up.
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