The investment was announced by Aston Martin president and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, who is part of the UK delegation accompanying the PM. The luxury car maker last week announced its third consecutive quarter of pre-tax profit and a 96% year-on-year revenue growth for the first six months of 2017.
The company sees the Asian market, and Japan in particular, as crucial to their expansion plans, and have said they will be investing in a flagship ‘global brand centre’ in Tokyo, establish a new Aston Martin Japan HQ and expand the country’s dealer network.
Aston Martin will also look to buy over £70m of components from Japanese suppliers, including Bridgestone, Denso, Mitsubishi and Yazaki, and develop an Aston Martin Meta Technology and Luxury Accelerator office in Japan, which is set to open next year.
Ms May is in Japan to look at forging a post-Brexit deal for the UK, saying that it is “vital that we build on our existing ties with friends and allies.” She added that the deal would open “open new possibilities for future deals with Japan.”
Aston Martin’s two UK plants, in Gaydon and the newly built factory in St Athan, Wales, stand to benefit substantially from the deal. Exports from the sites will be worth over £400m, boosted by increased demand for the company’s sports cars and the announcement that the new DBX model, Aston Martin’s first SUV, will be built at the St Athan plant from 2020 – with Wales beating off more than 20 countries to land the project.
In the 12 months since the EU referendum, Japanese companies including Toyota, Nissan and SoftBank have pledged investment into the UK. Ms May hailed these, and the Aston Martin deal, as “important developments for our economy and for the relationship with Japan.”
“As the world’s second largest luxury car market, Japan is key to our future plans as we completely revitalise and expand our product portfolio under our Second Century plan,” said Dr Palmer. “We have long enjoyed a loyal following from Japanese customers and the public alike, with our new dealership in Tokyo set to become our largest worldwide by volume.”
Currently, over 80% of Aston Martin’s production is exported, and this figure is set to rise with the company focusing strongly on the US and Asian markets in the future.
