Aston Martin teams up with Lucid to develop new electric cars

Aston Martin has announced a new agreement with American EV firm Lucid as it looks to introduce a range of electric models in the coming years.

Aston Martin is one of few car firms that are yet to introduce an electric model or hybrid in series production.

Announced this morning to the London Stock Exchange, Lucid – a rival to Tesla – will provide ‘advanced electric powertrains and battery systems’ to Aston Martin. This technology is set to be at the centre of the British firm’s new electric vehicle platform that is being developed.

It comes as part of a £2bn investment over the next five years to move Aston Martin away from combustion engines to electric models. The first fruits of this labour will arrive in 2025 as Aston Martin’s first EV, though a plug-in hybrid is expected before then in 2024 in the form of the Valhalla supercar.

This new electric car platform is set to underpin a range of different models, including hypercars, sports cars, GTs and SUVs, the firm has said.

Lawrence Stroll, executive chairman of Aston Martin, said: “The supply agreement with Lucid is a game changer for the future EV-led growth of Aston Martin. Based on our strategy and requirements, we selected Lucid, gaining access to the industry’s highest performance and most innovative technologies for our future BEV products.

“Overall, today’s announcement is a further significant step towards delivering our ambition for Aston Martin.”

Aston Martin has previously worked with Mercedes, with the German automotive giant supplying engines and various technologies. Despite this Lucid deal, it says Mercedes ‘will continue’ to provide it with powertrains, including for electric vehicles.

Last month, Chinese car firm Geely also announced it was increasing its share in Aston Martin to 17 per cent, which sees Aston Martin adopting various technologies from the company, as well helping its expansion into the lucrative Chinese market.