Aston Martin is pressing ahead with ambitious growth plans for the brand in China after debuting the new Virage and Vantage S in the region and announcing plans for up to four new dealer sites over the next 12 months.

After first joining the market in 2008, Aston Martin has appointed dealers in Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Shanghai with more to come. The market will spearhead the company's future growth in Asia having already taken the position as the British marque's fastest growing Asia market with sales in 2010 up 25% on the previous year.

Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez said: "Now is the right time for us to accelerate our growth in China. We have taken our time to gradually establish the building blocks to ensure long-term stability for the Aston Martin brand in the region and - encouraged by reaction from customers - it is right for us to grow our presence.

"Clearly, China offers the largest emerging luxury market in the world and offers substantial growth potential for us while allowing us to remain exclusive and fulfilling our strategy of becoming less dependent on classic established (western) markets.

"In conjunction with the investment in our dealership network we will develop a new dedicated organisation for China and establish a regional office in Shanghai."

After taking a steady and progressive approach since first introducing the Aston Martin brand to the Chinese market in 2008, strong interest and enthusiasm from a rapidly emerging luxury sports car market will see the company embark on the next stage of its growth plans for the region in 2011. The company is now actively pursuing plans to open up to four more dedicated dealership sites across China to meet growing demand in the region.

Aston Martin's Regional Director for Asia Pacific, Dr Matthew Bennett added: "In April we enjoyed a very successful Shanghai Auto Show where the new Virage, Vantage S and four-door Rapide made their Chinese debuts - as well as the flagship One-77 making its first appearance in the region. During the show we saw considerable interest in our cars and a great enthusiasm for the Aston Martin brand from the Chinese public which gives us great encouragement.

"In the strong and growing Chinese luxury market we look forward to providing an expanded, dedicated Aston Martin dealership network throughout the country to allow customers to enjoy the Aston Martin experience."

Further new products are being brought to the Chinese market over the coming weeks with the introduction of the new Virage, Vantage S and the recently launched Rapide four-door sports car making their Chinese debuts.

Beautiful, dynamic and prestigious, the new Virage combines outright sports car performance with luxury, comfort and refinement. The front mid-mounted V12 engine's torque delivery provides outstanding performance, coupled with the car's inherent agility and perfect weight distribution delivering the ideal balance between outright sports car performance and trademark sporting luxury exemplified by modern Aston Martins.

The V8 Vantage S epitomises every attribute of the V8 Vantage and pushes the driver experience beyond what Aston Martin has offered before, characterised by a host of new driver-focussed features all designed to push the honed dynamics of the standard Vantage to a new benchmark level. Aston Martin's own 4.7 litre V8 engine has been engineered to deliver peak power of 430 bhp (436 PS / 321 kW) at 7300 rpm and torque of 490 Nm (361 lb.ft) at 5000 rpm and is coupled with a new ground-up developed Sportshift^TM II transmission specifically designed for the Vantage S with seven short ratio gears to deliver the most engaging and intense driver involvement.

Both the new Virage and the Vantage S are on sale in China now with first deliveries starting this summer.

Aston Martin now operates a global dealership network of 135 dealers in 42 countries. As part of the company's ongoing expansion plans Aston Martin has recently entered into South America, India, Taiwan and Turkey whilst seeking continued growth in new markets as well as emerging markets including China and the Middle East.