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Aston Martin is to create 250 jobs across its UK business in 2014, and will invest £20 million in expanding its production facilities.

The announcement comes as the firm steps up work on its next generation of sports cars, with the new roles to be split across its engineering, manufacturing and commercial operations.

Central to the developments at the Gaydon manufacturing plant will be a new chassis and pilot build facility, new offices, and an extension of its parts and logistics storage area. Covering an additional 10,000m2, the expansion is set to be completed in 2015.

Keith Stanton, Aston Martin Manufacturing Operations Director, said, “I am very happy to be able to execute another part of our manufacturing strategy by extending our already highly efficient facility.

“The improvements at Gaydon are a big step forward, and the development will enable us to streamline and finesse our manufacturing processes which, in turn, will allow us to be leaner and even more competitive.”

In the meantime, the latest round of Aston Martin’s apprenticeship scheme has received over 500 applications for the 12 places on offer.

Hanno Kirner, Aston Martin Chief Financial Officer, said, “We have confirmed that the coming years will see Aston Martin implementing the biggest investment programme in the 101-year history of the brand, with a plan to inject over £500m into the company’s next generation of high performance sports cars.”

The UK automotive sector currently finds itself in rude health, with car production volumes on course to reach all-time record levels by 2017. More than £2.5 billion investment was committed to the industry in 2013, and just last week Bentley announced the creation of 140 jobs at its Crewe plant.

For a comprehensive guide to the UK’s thriving automotive sector, take a look at 91���� Motor Industry Facts 2014.