Aston Martin confirms Lagonda brand for Australia
BY JUSTIN HILLIARD | 23rd May 2018
ASTON Martin has confirmed the Australian launch of its recently-announced zero-emissions luxury brand, Lagonda, but whether these models will be sold in separate showrooms remains unknown.
Speaking to journalists in Melbourne this week, Aston Martin Australia and New Zealand regional manager Kevin Wall revealed the British marque’s intentions to launch locally but stopped short of detailing its rollout plans, including timing.
“The official answer is yes,” he said. “In what format is still to be determined.”
When questioned by GoAuto if Lagonda will be treated as a separate entity to Aston Martin locally, Mr Wall explained that all options are currently being explored, while the existing dealer network is particularly keen.
“There is an entire study being done on that subject right now,” he said. “That’s why the dealers kept asking (about it), because they’re all give me, give me, give me.”
While standalone Lagonda dealerships seem unlikely, anything is possible given the apparent enthusiasm of Aston Martin’s local dealer network.
As reported earlier this month, Lagonda’s first model will be an SUV, which will take on the Bentley Bentayga and the just-revealed Rolls-Royce Cullinan, among others, when it debuts in 2021.
Official details on the brand’s second model, due in 2023, are less clear, but it is likely to be either a two-door coupe or a five-door liftback.
The latter was previewed by the Vision Concept revealed at the Geneva motor show in March this year, which took the form of a pure-electric, Level 4 autonomous vehicle.
In keeping with Lagonda’s zero-emissions brief, the Vision Concept was powered by a pure-electric powertrain, which used a solid-state battery pack to provide a real-world driving range of up to 644 kilometres.
Other than its wireless charging and torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive systems, specific details on this set-up are still under wraps, but a version of it is expected to motivate the brand’s forthcoming two production models.
Similarly, some level of autonomous technology is also expected to be available in the pair, given the Vision Concept’s ability to drive itself in normal conditions on all recognisable roads.
Interestingly, the Vision Concept’s steering wheel could move from left- to right-hand drive as needed, or retract entirely if a human driver is not required, but such a feature is unlikely to be production-ready in the next three to five years.
Aston Martin president and chief executive officer Andy Palmer did not hold back when describing Lagonda’s purpose at the unveiling of the Vision Concept.
“We believe people associate luxury in their cars with a certain traditional and even old-fashioned approach because, to date, that is all that’s been available to them,” he said.
“Lagonda exists to challenge that thinking and prove that being modern and luxurious are not mutually exclusive concepts.
“We see no limits for Lagonda. It will be a brand for the restless, for those who are anything but happy with the status quo.
“It will produce cars that exploit technology, without being obsessed with it for its own sake. And it will enable Lagonda to redefine the concept of luxury within the automotive and other spheres.”
As such, Lagonda will contribute towards Aston Martin’s forecasted four-fold increase in global sales, from 3500 units in 2014 to up to 14,000 examples by 2022.
