Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers has been formulating a turnaround plan for the historic British automaker since he was brought in by Chairman Lawrence Stroll in August to help right the ship.
Aston Martin has seen its share price crash since the company was made public in 2018 and sales were slowing even before the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic hit. In June, the automaker was forced to cut 500 staff.
Under his guidance, Moers wants Aston Martin to focus on its engineering, while also moving to bespoke versions of powertrains sourced from Mercedes-Benz due to efficiency benefits, he told the Financial Times (subscription required) in an interview published Saturday.
He also said Aston Martin plans to launch 10 derivatives of existing models over the next two years, including two for the newly launched DBX SUV which is proving more popular in the key Chinese market than the automaker's traditional sports cars.
Tobias Moers
Mercedes owns 20% of Aston Martin and already supplies the automaker with V-8 engines built by Mercedes-Benz AMG, the performance skunkworks which Moers was previously in charge of. Mercedes in 2021 will also start supplying Formula One power units to the new Aston Martin F1 team, so the two companies are already deeply tied.
With Moers keen on increasing the use Mercedes powertrains, it's possible Aston Martin could cease building its own engines altogether. In his interview with the Financial Times, Moers said he wasn't sure if he could get Aston Martin's own 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 to meet incoming Euro 7 emissions regulations.
He also hinted in a November interview with Automotive News that a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 unveiled by Aston Martin in March could be dropped in favor of a Mercedes powertrain.
As for electrification, Moers plans to add plug-in hybrid and battery-electric cars to the lineup, once again with help from Mercedes, he said in the Automotive News interview. The first electric car is due in 2025 and will be badged as an Aston Martin, and not as a Lagonda as had been planned by Moers' predecessor, Andy Palmer.
