Geneva show: Aston out-sources Rapide

ASTON Martin’s four-door Rapide sports sedan will be assembled in Austria, by Magna Steyr.

The British car-maker made the announcement at the Geneva motor show last week, citing a lack of production capacity at its Gaydon plant in Warwickshire as the reason it will farm-out the assembly work.

Demand for the DB9, V8 Vantage and DBS means Aston Martin is close to reaching its maximum annual production capacity of 8000 cars.

Magna Steyr produces the BMW X3, Saab 9-3 convertible and a range of Chrysler and Jeep products, although Chrysler LLC has announced it will redirect production of some of its models to its own plants.

X3 production at Magna Steyr is due to end in 2010.

Magna Steyr will establish a dedicated Aston Martin production operation within its Graz facility. The design of the plant will be based upon the company’s production facility in Gaydon.

Production of The Rapide, which was first shown as a concept at the Detroit motor show in 2006, is scheduled to start next year with an annual sales target of 2000 cars.

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