First Aston Martin SUV comes off production line at St Athan factory
The first of Aston Martin's new model of Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) has come off the production line at their St Athan factory in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Manufacturing at the south Wales site was temporarily put on hold as the factory closed due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
After reopening on the 5 May, the first SUVs to be made by the famous car manufacturer have now been completed.
The car manufacturing industry is one of many sectors impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The number of vehicles sold by Aston Martin almost halved in the first three months of the year, leading to the announcement of 500 job losses.
Workers at the factory wore face masks and applauded as the first model came off the production line on Thursday 9 July.
While many staff were furloughed at the start of the pandemic, the luxury car company said they would be following guidelines from Public Health Wales as they reopened at St Athan in May.
'Pre-production' versions of the DBX SUV were made at the factory in June 2019.
Aston Martin, famously the car of choice for James Bond, announced the loss of around 500 jobs across its UK operation because of lower-than-planned production volumes and improved productivity.
However there is less concern about how these job cuts will affect the St Athan site.
The factory in Barry opened in December 2019 and is supposed to create 600 jobs in 2020, with this rising to 750 in 2021.