British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin says China is "tremendously important" to its future and has tipped the country to become its second biggest market behind the United States in the years ahead.
Aston Martin was founded in London in 1913 but Chinese automotive technology group, Geely, now owns a 17 percent stake in the company after doubling the initial minority stake it acquired just eight months earlier in September 2022.
Aston Martin's Executive Chairman, Lawrence Stroll, told CGTN Europe that China represents a key market for the company's future and expects the relationship with Geely to continue to go from strength to strength.
He said: "China is tremendously important to Aston Martin. In the future, we believe it will be our second largest market after the United States and eventually obviously behind Europe and here in the UK. The UK is still very important being our home.
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Aston Martin's Chief Executive Chairman, Lawrence Stroll, says China is "hugely important" to the company's future and expects the country to become the brand's second biggest market in the years ahead./Aston Martin.
"China is very important for our future. And obviously Geely, whose home is China, to use their muscle and help us in delivering and bringing our dealers to the new level and generation that we'd like them to be."
On Wednesday, Aston Martin announced it would enter the 24 hour Le Mans endurance race from 2025. The Valkyrie Hypercar will contest the historic race, while the news comes just two years after the brand launched a Formula One team.
Stroll says the decision makes sense given Aston Martin's historic connections with Le Mans. "We were born on the race track," he said. "We won Le Mans back in 1959, so to be returning with our incredible Valkyrie Hypercar is is a great achievement and creates a tremendous, tremendous amount of excitement."
The Canadian says the brand's expansion into performance racing will also have an impact on its luxury road vehicles. "We're showing the world how performance influences our brand, Aston Martin, whether it's through the Le Monde or Formula One program. We are a luxury brand who are infusing ourselves with performance."
The Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar will compete in the 24 hour Le Mans endurance race from 2025. /Aston Martin.
Stroll's own enthusiasm for Aston Martin shows no signs of waning. The 64-year-old's Yew Tree consortium recently increased his stake in the company to 26 percent after being buoyed by the success of the launch of its new range of sports cars.
"I firmly believe that there is a tremendous future in Aston Martin," he said. "Our SUV took 20 percent market share in the first couple of years and we're just starting to launch our new generation sports cars. Our DB 12 was launched in May in the south of France to tremendous demand filling up our order book. So yes, I took an opportunity that there was a chunk of shares available and to show my commitment and my belief I bought the shares and I couldn't be happier."
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