In an effort to escape their current financial quagmire, Aston Martin have officially revealed their first SUV to the world: the Aston Martin DBX. When the brand was sold away from the Ford Group, Aston Martin couldn’t quite find their feet. As a result, they have been suffering from severe financial difficulties for nearly half a decade.
One of the primary reasons for this is that their vehicles have not been on the same level as their competitors. Aston Martin cars are lightweight and powerful, but they don’t offer the sophisticated grand tourer experience as alternative vehicles. For example, there are no driving assistance technologies available with the Aston Martin vehicles. As Daimler AG owns 5% of Aston Martin, I thought we would see more Mercedes-Benz technologies inside new Aston Martin vehicles. Indeed, the gearbox, engine, and infotainment technology of the DBX are borrowed from Mercedez-Benz.
Sadly, Aston Martin are not doing well. This may lead to another company-wide financial crash unless DBX saves the company. However, the DBX entered to the market rather late. At first glance, Aston Martin’s brand identity doesn’t align well with sports utility vehicles, but SUVs make lots of money. Instead of investing in Formula 1 and other unnecessary projects, Aston Martin should have introduced the DBX years ago. This formula saved Porsche!
Although the Ford Motor Company no longer own Aston Martin, the DBX looks like it came from the same design studio as the third generation Ford Kuga. A pair of untrained eyes might not see any difference at all, as, from the outside, both cars look very similar. The Ford Kuga is much smaller than the DBX, but they look largely the same. Sadly, Ford will be taking benefit of this similarity. The subjective value of the Kuga will be increased thanks to DBX!
Photo Credits // Ford and Aston Martin