Aston Martin to Build New Plant

Aston Martin, the British sports car manufacturer famous for being James Bond's preferred choice of wheels, is on the lookout for a site to build a new manufacturing facility. As reported by Reuters, a source familiar with Aston Martin's thinking has indicated that the shortlist includes 4 locations in the UK, USA or Middle East.

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Aston Martin has been unable to make a profit for some time now with the company posting losses to the tune of $37.9 million in 2013 and $109.16 million in 2014. The company announced that it would be laying-off nearly 300 employees in October this year.

The British carmaker announced the replacement of long-serving CEO, Dr. Ulrich Benz, in 2014 with Dr. Andy Palmer coming in as his replacement. The company is now looking to turn around its fortunes by planning a major expansion program to increase its current manufacturing strength. Besides showcasing the Aston Martin DB10 concept in the latest James Bond flick, Spectre, the company is also designing a new crossover called DBX which is shown in the image above. Other expansion projects include a return to Formula 1 racing as Force India may be re-branded as Aston Martin Racing in the next race calendar. The company may also make its Delhi Auto Expo debut in February 2016.

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Reuters' source stated that the 4 proposed locations on Aston Martin's short-list for its next facility include 2 in Britain, 1 in the state of Alabama in America, and 1 in the Middle East. "The board is reviewing the options and will make a decision by the end of the year or the first few weeks of January," the source said. The company itself declined to comment although in October, Aston Martin did state that it had shortened a list of locations to build 5,000 DBX models from 19 to 6.

One of the potential British locations is touted to be an 80-acre site in Sutton Coldfield which could generate up to 1,000 jobs. The final decision will be made based on several factors including whether or not the company will get financial support from the government. Another important factor is that Aston Martin still hasn't decided if it's going to use a complete car platform for its DBX crossover from its 5% stakeholder, Daimler AG.

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