Aston Martin CEO hopes to develop a competitor for Tesla Roadster

There is a lot going on within Aston Martin. Its CEO, Andy Palmer, has a full plate, to say the least. Despite that, he recently just announced that they are planning to deliver a high performance electric vehicle that could go up against the next generation Tesla Roadster.

Palmer also says that it is possible for them to develop an electric vehicle that is smaller and faster than the Vantage, when Auto Express asked about that matter. Furthermore, when asked about challenges involved in making electric vehicles, such as the battery, Palmer responds by saying that Aston Martin is an expert when it comes to making electric vehicles, and the main factors that they need to take account of include elements like “weight, aerodynamic drag, and rolling resistance”.

He then added that developing electric vehicles will put them at an advantage over other brands like Tesla that promises a lightweight roadster. He reasons that it would be because of the fact that they are already masters at building these components.

After all that talk regarding a potential contender of the Tesla EVs, we also learned that Aston Martin will not offer plug-in hybrids because of two things - complexity and cost. Palmer said that instead of spending money on plug in hybrids, he would rather use the money on the final product -- pure electric models. But then, part of the automaker’s plan is to build mild hybrids that use 48V technology.

Having said all that, we think that the earliest that Aston Martin will reveal such a car will be early next decade, as they work their way through an ambitious product plan to bring a new model every year until 2022. Moreover, the British automaker announced that it will sell 155 examples of the RapidE pure-electric car next year, and by 2025, they will have at least one mild hybrid version of all their current models.

The mild hybrid technology could allow the Aston to go below eight cylinders for the first time since the straight-six DB7. But he did say that four cylinders are not on their agenda, but instead a hybrid V6 could be the ideal choice.

But Aston Martin actually has much cause for celebration. In 2017, Aston Martin was able to surpass their 5,000 unit mark since 2008, with a total of 5,117 vehicles sold. The automaker is enthusiastic about this year and the years to come, especially with the new Vantage that will start production this year, as well as the replacement of the Vanquish.

Will Aston Martin reach their goal of selling more vehicles in the next couple of years? And what are your thoughts on their plan of going against Tesla’s Roadster?