Aston Martin is gearing up for an electrified future and it’s developing a new modular battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform, which has received a boost from the UK Government.
The British luxury carmaker has now received £9 million (~A$17 million) in funding from the UK Government-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to further the research and development of this electric platform.
This is in addition to the £2 billion (~A$3.8 billion) Aston Martin has already pledged to spend over the next five years in order to make the transition from internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs).
With this latest round of funding the British luxury carmaker will lead a six-partner collaborative research and development project that will “address the technical challenges” of developing a “lightweight” 800V battery pack and a twin front-mounted electric drive unit (EDU) for the new modular BEV platform which will have “bandwidth from supercar to SUV”.
Aston Martin’s new BEV platform will also use a Lucid-supplied twin rear-mounted EDU, battery technology, and the Wunderbox battery charger.
The first Aston Martin vehicle on this new modular BEV platform is targeted for launch in 2025. It’s unclear if the company’s first EV will be an electric sports car or something more practical.
The company will continue to develop vehicles on existing architectures for the time being, with the Valhalla plug-in hybrid supercar due in 2024.
Aston Martin is currently planning for all new model lines to feature an electrified powertrain option by 2026, with the long-term goal of the “core range” to be fully electrified by 2030.
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“The award of funding from the APC is another major boost to our electrification strategy and constant strive for innovation,” said Aston Martin Group CTO Roberto Fedeli.
“Providing further resources to explore the possibilities of our bespoke BEV platform, it will help achieve our ambition to be an in-house BEV technology leader in the ultra-luxury, high-performance segment.
“We look forward to progressing this project with our collaborative partners and thank the APC for their incredible support”
MORE: Aston Martin to use Lucid tech for new electric car platform
