Aston Martin DB9 & Vantage CAN continue to be sold in the US

Aston Martin has been given a safety exemption for the DB9 and Vantage models in the US which will allow them to continue to be sold until new models arrive.

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Back in August we reported that the Aston Martin DB9 and Vantage models were likely to be withdrawn from sale in the US after new side impact tests meant the two mainstay models in the Aston Martin range would no longer comply.

That bit of bad news had AML’s US advisory panel chairman, James Walker, petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for an exemption for the two models – and the convertibles – as losing the models would result in a 40 per cent drop in Aston sales in the US.

Walker was seeking an exemption until August 2016 for the DB9 and August 2017 for the Vantage – by which time they will comply – and, although the new regulations don’t come in for the convertible models until September 2015, for a similar exemption on the open-top models until August 2017.

Fortunately for Aston Martin, the NHTSA has agreed to the exemptions, declaring:

The basis for the grant is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a low volume manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard.

Which means Aston Martin won’t  be hampered with trying to grow Aston Martin sales in the US with one hand tied behind its back.