Aston Martin expects 300 St Athan jobs within a year

The Rapide E prototype will be built from next year

Aston Martin has said it expects to employ 300 people at St Athan by this time next year and 700 by spring 2020.

From next year the Vale of Glamorgan site will produce Aston Martin's first electric car, the Rapide E.

The other - the Lagonda - is a "luxury" car and will be made from 2021.

Aston Martin has been showing the prototypes of the two electric vehicles it is going to make at its Welsh factory.

It was previously reported that the plant was expected to employ 750 people when it was fully operational.

In September this year the company said it wanted Wales to be its "home of electrification".

The Lagonda is an electric, zero-emissions, luxury car

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Andy Haslam from Aston Martin said the zero emissions cars were aimed at tech savvy executives, typically in the West Coast of the USA or China, who want to be able to enter all city centres when they want to.

Mr Haslam would not comment on the £18.8m it has received from the Welsh Government to support the St Athan plant but said that funding was not the main reason for choosing the site in Wales over 19 others that they looked into.

Aston Martin's move into electric cars comes as other sections of the automotive sector on Wales are feeling the effects of the slump in sales of traditional diesel and petrol vehicles.

The Rapide E will be Aston Martin's first electric car