We've just caught Aston Martin testing a fire-breathing Vantage, and we've recently learned that a V8 shortage from its supplier Mercedes-AMG won't be affecting the company. All seems well in the world of combustion-powered Astons then, but what of its electric plans? Late last year, we reported on how Aston Martin appears to be lagging behind everyone in the race to electrification, but the British firm is still working on getting cleaner. In fact, its first electric sports car will arrive in just a few short years, but CEO Tobias Moers spoke with MotorTrend and said that being a small automaker, it does not need to "make big broad pronouncements".

As you likely know, the Aston Martin Valhalla is a hybrid, and according to Moers, an important stepping stone towards large-scale electrification. The first pure EV will arrive around mid-decade, and Moers recognizes its importance: "It's very obvious we have to have the next-generation sports cars on a pure EV level. That's clear."

The reason that we have to wait for it is that the current lineup of sports cars is due for a major facelift by 2023, so Aston needs to prepare for the changes necessary when switching to EV manufacture. But what kind of car will be the first of the electric Astons?

"We have traditionally been two doors so we will have a successor for the DB11 or something like that," says Moers. This makes sense since the DB11 was the first to be launched as part of Aston's "second century" scheme in 2016. As much as Aston may seem reluctant to get into electrification, Moers is excited and says he will spearhead the push to electrify the brand, just as he did at Mercedes-AMG before. Furthermore, Aston is building its own EV engineering team so that it doesn't need to rely on the likes of Mercedes and Rimac as much. Moers predicts that at least half of all AM cars sold will be fully electric, but also says that Aston "can adjust to demand."

Best of all, Aston will stick with internal combustion as long as possible: "there are still buyers who want a mid-engine, ICE-driven sports car."