Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark confirms the company will have to eventually pull the plug on the V12 as it also prepares to revise its EV strategy due to shifting market conditions.
Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark revealed the company is continuing to scale back its EV plans and that the end is coming for the V12.
Aston Martin is facing an uncertain future as the company scales back its EV plans due to shifting market conditions and the shakey financial ground that the company finds itself in. However, the one diamond in the rough that Aston could always rely on was its might V12 engine with the twelve-cylinder rapidly becoming an iconic part of the Aston Martin driving experience for owners lucky enough to own a model equipped with one.
But tightening emissions regulations are putting the squeeze on the engine, and Aston’s CEO admits that while the company has managed to save the V12 from extinction in the short term, it will eventually be forced to retire the iconic powertrain admitting that the engine will not be able to stave off changing emissions standards and fuel economy regulations for too much longer.
The end is near for V12
The V12 will still be present but the clocki is ticking as emissions regulations close in on the engine.
The latest comments from Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark who issued the candid reply during an interview with several press outlets to provide an update on his plans for Aston Martin and where he intends to take the company moving forward. One unfortunate casualty of these plans is the eventual demise of the V12. “We will keep the 12-cylinder running as long as possible, even as a niche model,” he confirmed, noting that this will likely take the form of exploiting “certain dispensations for very low-volume cars” allowing for a few hundred units per year as regulations tighten. Stricter emissions rules will likely end volume production of V-12 cars by 2030, Hallmark said, with V-8s lasting until 2035.
As such, Hallmark seemed to indicate that V12 production will cease in 2030 under the current proposed timetable as Aston Martin exhausts every avenue imaginable to keep the engine alive while keeping evolving emissions regulations. In the meantime, the V12 will continue to have a very colorful career with recent models like the Vanquish and the low-production Valiant embracing the engine and its silky smooth performance. That’s despite how old it is, with the latest iteration of the V12 first appearing back in 1999.
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Electrification being scaled back
Hallmark also used the opportunity to expand on the company’s scaled back plans for electrification while also putting several other rumors to rest including the revival of the Lagonda brand.
This latest talk about the V12 comes as Aston Martin is in the process of throttling back its plans for electrification. The EVs themselves are still happening, but they will be launched at a slower pace with Hallmark confirming the first one will be launched within the next five years but that it will also be the only one launched for that period of time before the next one appears.
Hallmark also admits that combustion-powered vehicles will still make up a large slice of its sales with the CEO expecting 85% of these sales to come from these vehicles. This would allow the company to still cater to customers while quelling anger from some loyalists who don’t want to see the company boldly leap into EVs at the cost of the internal combustion engines that they love and enjoy. This large pool of ICE sales will also help fund the EV projects including a partnership with EV maker Lucid which will help provide a viable framework for the inaugural EV and the other models that will come after it.
Hallmark also used the opportunity to squash some rumors too, with the CEO confirming the DBX will be the sole SUV entry for the brand moving forward with no plans for other SUV models in the near future. The rumored revival of the Lagonda brand (a controversial subject in the company and among loyalists) is also being scrapped with Hallmark saying the company does not need the challenge of managing a second brand which is understandable with some of the lingering problems that continue to plague Aston Martin.
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