Aston Martin Delays EVs, Will Develop a V-12 PHEV to Satisfy Demand for Gas Cars

Aston Martin is seemingly going through yet another soft shift in priorities, already repositioning the redesigned 2025 V-8 Vantage with more power and performance and likely a higher price point now that it's lost its previously available V-12 engine. But don't be too sad about the V-12 Vantage going, as it sounds like the company has something left in the cards for a V-12 engine in the future. The new, new, new plan for Aston Martin now is apparently to delay the rollout for four electric vehicles (initially due to begin launch next year), now promising development of more plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models well into the next decade, since Aston Martin claims it has plenty of customers demanding just that. Let's break down another future laid out for the storied British automaker, presuming this one finally sticks.

Aston EVs Delayed

Speaking to Autocar, Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll says the company has now pushed back plans to launch its first electric model in 2025, with the new plan to introduce it in 2027. The company stresses it had a model developed on time for that launch date, but given demand at its desired price point for EVs at the current moment, it's shifting priorities in the near-term. Stroll claims his customers inform the sales team that they still want the “sounds and smells” of ICE technology, via Autocar: "We planned to launch at the end of 2025 and were ready to do so, but it seems there is a lot more hype in EVs, politically driven or whatever, than consumer demand, particularly at an Aston Martin price point."

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A single, newly developed bespoke EV platform is said to eventually underpin a smaller crossover, an SUV, a grand tourer of sorts (not clear if it'll be two or four doors), and then some sort of high-performance supercar. However, Stroll promises what many of us likely want to hear: "For as long as we're allowed to make ICE cars, we'll make them. I think there will always be demand, even if it's small."

PHEV Development

Times are tumultuous in the industry, and we don't envy anybody having to make decisions on where to throw development money at right now when developing new gas, hybrid, or all-electric vehicle powertrains. The smart money is probably to invest in some combination of hybrid and electric going forward, to balance both customer demand for exciting and engaging powertrains while also satisfying stricter and stricter emissions regulations across the globe. That'll be Aston Martin's new strategy to keep the peace with its customers and its market governance: fresh development of new hybrid cars and, eventually, a substantial but supplementary rollout of four all-electric vehicles, likely beginning with the previously mentioned crossover and SUV. But where are those PHEVs coming from?

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Stroll says he's directed the company to "invest very heavily in PHEVs," which he claims should "play out for a long while and we will have an extensive offering" in terms of having some sort of gas-powered model on sale well into the increasingly regulated 2030s. Stroll told Autocar that customers are not keen on V-6 models, so future PHEVs will be developed around the V-8—and then Stroll also claimed the company will develop a hybridized V-12 powertrain as well.

Autocar reports these new PHEV models will be generated from existing Aston architectures, with the best-selling DBX SUV likely to be the first to get overhauled with a new PHEV powertrain. A likely upcoming refresh for the DBX should come this year, so we may see this new technology implemented sooner than later; a new DBS model is also expected to launch this year.