Prince Charles visits Aston Martin's new Wales facility

The Prince of Wales had a test drive of Aston Martin’s new luxury SUV when he visits the car maker’s factory in the Vale of Glamorgan.

During the visit, the heir to the throne met engineers working on different stages of the production process of the DBX, including seat installation and the paint shop.

At a reception to celebrate the new factory the prince placed a wings badge on the front of a DBX, which will be located in the reception area of the new Aston Martin facility.

The factory will now also bears a plaque, commemorating the Royal visit, which was presented to the team by His Royal Highness.

Prince Charles visited the St Athan facility that is building the marque's first SUV (Photographer Max Earey)

The prince, who is the owner of an Aston Martin Volante convertible, a 21st birthday present from the Queen, met a number of apprentices about the skills and knowledge they’ve gained during their time at the facility.

Aston Martin Lagonda executive vice president and chief creative officer, Marek Reichman said: “It was an honour to welcome His Royal Highness to St Athan today. To have transformed St Athan from a former MOD site to a facility fit for a Royal visit makes us all feel extremely proud. It is well-known that The Prince of Wales is a fan of Aston Martin, so it was a pleasure to be able to show him around the future of the brand here today.”

Prince Charles talked to apprentices at the St Athan facility (Photographer Max Earey)

The Prince Wales placed the wings of Aston Martin onto a car (Photographer Max Earey)

Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart added: “Locating this world-class and globally-recognised brand in St Athan is a huge vote of confidence in the Welsh workforce. It is an example of how the UK and Welsh Governments can work together to secure the investment of companies like Aston Martin Lagonda driving economic growth and creating jobs. I look forward to the first made-in-Wales Aston Martins rolling off the production line later this year.”

First look inside Aston Martin’s manufacturing facility in St Athan

Since 2016, St Athan has undergone a transformation from Royal Air Force base to state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

St Athan is the home of Aston Martin’s first SUV, the DBX. Upon the commencement of full production at St Athan in the second quarter of 2020, the company will have created up to 600 new highly-skilled jobs, rising to 750.