Aston Martin’s electric car plans scaled back

Aston Martin has scaled back its first electric model production plans after investment partner LeEco pulled out, chief executive Andy Palmer told Reuters.

The result may be an even more exclusive car, aimed at customers who consider Tesla’s top of the range $US130,000 ($171,400) Model S to be a little too run of the mill, the Financial Review reports.

Aston Martin will build only 155 of its RapidE, about a third of the initial plan, and lean more heavily on Formula One engineering specialist Williams after the withdrawal of Chinese TV and smartphone vendor LeEco, Palmer says.

The setback and Aston’s response underscore the challenges and risks niche car makers face as they scramble to address future demand for electrification from consumers and regulators.

“We’ve decided to make this car rare, which will obviously tend to push the price higher,” Palmer says. “Aston Martin now plans to proceed independently, funding further development of RapidE by ourselves.”

Palmer agreed to be interviewed after sources told Reuters Aston Martin’s partnership with LeEco had unravelled.

Unveiling the alliance in February last year, LeEco and Aston pledged to launch an all-electric version of the Rapide S sedan in 2018. But the Chinese conglomerate has since slashed its electric car investments, including its US start-up Faraday Future’s planned $US1.3 billion factory in Nevada.

Spokespersons for LeEco and Faraday did not respond to requests for comment on the end of the Aston partnership. Aston Martin declined to discuss its partner’s business.

The company is rolling out a new model each year under a recovery plan drawn up by Palmer, who joined from Nissan in 2014.

The RapidE is expected to now be launched in 2019, about a year later than initially planned.

Aston Martin will start taking orders next month with 10% down payments on the RapidE, priced near 200,000 pounds ($336,000) in its home market before incentives.

Batteries will come from a new production facility built by a consortium led by Williams Advanced Engineering, the F1 team’s technical division, with matched British government funding.

Williams, which supplies power packs to the Formula E electric car racing series, also built the RapidE prototype unveiled in 2015.

Beyond the RapidE, Aston Martin’s first full-production battery car will be an electric version of the DBX crossover it is launching in 2019.