Aston Martin caps DBX production at 5,000 a year

CEO Andy Palmer doesn't want to cannibalise production of existing line-up or devalue the brand

Aston Martin will cap annual production of the upcoming DBX to 5,000 cars to ensure its vehicles remain an uncommon sight on the road. Company CEO Andy Palmer said that he has “purposefully restrained production” of Aston’s first SUV so demand will always outstrip supply, protecting Aston’s status as a luxury brand and preventing it from slipping into the realms of a higher volume, “premium” car maker.

Palmer said that DBX production capacity would actually be reduced to free up space for the following Lagonda All-Terrain model, which will also be produced at Aston’s new St Athan factory. He told carsales.com.au that “there's always a tendency when you've got an order book to turn everything up, and when you do that, you start making mistakes in my experience”.

From 2023, the plan is for the new Welsh production facility to produce 4,000 DBXs and the rest of its capacity will go to 3,000 Lagondas per year. Aston’s Gaydon HQ, on the other hand, will remain focussed on production of its GT models and the Vanquish and Valhalla supercars. Total annual production today stands at 14,000 cars, so come 2023, the firm could easily surpass the 20,000 mark for the first time.

Palmer believes many of the extra sales could come from faithful existing customers who “already have an SUV in the garage”. He said “getting to our existing customers who are already in love with Aston is not a bad starting place” to facilitate growth. As for those who are fans of the Rapide, that model will not get a direct successor, with the DBX essentially filling the void - which it will start to do from this December, when the covers are officially pulled off for the first time…