Financially stricken Aston Martin on Tuesday named Tobias Moers as the replacement for current CEO Andy Palmer.
Moers is both chief executive and chief technical officer at Mercedes-AMG, positions he's held since 2013, but will step down on August 1 to take up the new role at Aston Martin. Mercedes-Benz of Brazil's chief Philipp Schiemer has been confirmed as the new CEO of AMG and Jochen Hermann, who heads EV development at AMG's Daimler parent, has been confirmed as the new technical chief.
As for Palmer, he's leaving Aston Martin after leading the company since 2014. During his tenure he oversaw the development of the DBX and the establishment of a second vehicle plant. He also oversaw the introduction of a new mid-engine line of cars, the first of which was the Valkyrie hypercar.
Crucially, he also oversaw Aston Martin's initial public offering in 2018, which was a huge failure. The share price has fallen over 90 percent since the original listing on the London Stock Exchange and currently sits at just 35 British pence (approximately 43 cents).
Andy Palmer
Aston Martin's sales have also dropped, with the decline starting before the Covid-19 coronavirus hit. The company recorded a loss of almost $150 million for the first three months of 2020, and that was after a loss of $134 million for all of 2019.
In contrast, Moers managed to double AMG's product portfolio and quadruple its sales during his time there, as well as lay the groundwork for future expansion. He also increased margins thanks to a focus on improving operating and manufacturing efficiency.
Moers also worked closely with Aston Martin over the years due to an ongoing technical partnership that included the supply of AMG-built V-8s for use in Aston Martin's cars. The partnership is set to continue under Moers' watch. The links between Daimler and Aston Martin don't end there, however. Daimler owns roughly five percent of Aston Martin, and Toto Wolff, who is team principal of the Mercedes-AMG Formula One Team, is also an investor in Aston Martin with a stake of just under one percent.
Aston Martin's recent strife led to new investors, led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, throwing the company a financial lifeline earlier this year. As part of the deal which was finalized in March, Stroll was named chairman of Aston Martin. He plans to take Aston Martin racing in F1 next year by rebranding the current Racing Point F1 Team as Aston Martin's factory team. Stroll controls Racing Point and is also the father of current driver Lance Stroll.
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