A revolutionary new Aga cooker, which is on when you need it and off when you don’t, is being tipped by its makers as a breakthrough product that will see global and domestic sales soar.

The Aga Total Control features a touch screen control panel and the ability to control its three ovens and two hotplates independently or together.

Leamington-based Aga Rangemaster chief executive William McGrath described its creation as an “Eureka moment” in the company’s history.

Mr McGrath says the new electric cooker puts an end to the biggest criticism of Agas – a lack of flexibility – and “keeps the romance but wraps it up in a 21st century package”.

“It’s a redefinition of the product and we have great hopes for it.” he said. “We did a lot of market testing asking what people wanted. People were saying that what they really needed was an Aga that was on when needed and could be turned off when not.

Mr McGrath says the new Aga, built at the company’s Telford factory, utilises independent cast-iron ovens, each with their own electric element rather than just one heat source, a development he branded the “Eureka moment”.

“This is the big one and should represent a sea change in increasing the size of the target market – not only in the UK but internationally too,” he said.

Aga went electric in 2004 and 60 per cent of its sales are electric cookers.

“We sat down and thought ‘‘where does Aga go next’’ which led to the development of electric products, then programmable and now this, where the oven element is embedded in cast iron,” added Mr McGrath.

The result is a product which can be timed to come on 20 minutes before someone comes home, or a single part of it such as the roasting oven.

Another key feature of the latest Aga is cheap running costs, with the company estimating it could be used for all a family’s cooking needs at a cost of around £5 per week.