Hot! Aston Martin: News and What's Next

[hovabongZA]

Good career move by Moers and will add much needed spice to Aston Martin.

Whoever is going to take over AMG has big boots to fill. With the next generation C63 being a 4 pot, particular filters and hybrid systems coming to AMG , she/he will skip the pan and go straight into the fire.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

....Couple that with a few mid engined cars + continuously improved V8 Vantage, and you will have a manufacturer that is resurging..

I'd beg to differ. That, I personally seriously doubt, will be the recipe for a "resurgence". My take is that A-M would be well advised to take a close look at the Automobili Pininfarina playbook. Of course, within somewhat less exorbitant offering price spans.

 

[Centurion]

I'd beg to differ. That, I personally seriously doubt, will...

How do you envision Moer and Stroll getting it wrong? Do you think the future looks dim for Mclaren automotive too?

 

[StartYourEngines]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember to have read a while ago that the collaboration between AM and Red Bull would have continued for what concerns the Valkyrie project.
I can't in fact understand how it would all function otherwise since the Valkyrie is a Red Bull designed and developed car. Without their know-how, I don't see how the management of everything that concerns such a complex machine could be done by AM alone.

All I can say is that we are at half 2020 and, after all these years, they all better not screw this project up...

 

[Deleted member 1071]

How do you envision Moer and Stroll getting it wrong? Do...

I wouldn't venture to comment on Lawrence Stroll. Other than that he is an automobile enthusiast successful business man and that his son is an F1 driver, I know far too little about him.

As far as Tobias Moers goes: From what I've read in interviews featuring Moers, he is more than prepared to embrace BEV technologies and may hence be a very suitable AM CEO. He has openly praised skateboard BEV platforms as being an ideal future basis for 4 seat (2 and 4 door) GT cars as well as having mentioned that "T" battery packs could be very attractive for 2 seat hypercar configurations. He certainly doesn't appear to be slavishly committed to V8s and V12s. Quite the opposite actually. Not sure what the case is with Lawrence Stroll however.

McLaren ?... I've no idea. I do however recall some published speculation about one year ago that McLaren may have approached VAG with inquiries regarding their upcoming PPE/SPE BEV platforms. Could be pure B.S. for all I know.

 

[Centurion]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I r...

I consider the Valkyrie a vanity project like that the Bugatti Chiron. Both have little or nothing incommon with other cars in the group.

AM is likely funding it with Red Bull acting as a contractor. There is likely a detailed scope of work that will be fulfilled in spite of changes to AM's leadership.

I wouldn't venture to comment on Lawrence Stroll. Other tha...

Aston Martin will soon debut their V6 hybrid which will help ween the brand off the AMG built V8 that is currently used in the Vantage and DB11. Moer will likely have likely mapped out the future of AMGs transition for rumbling V8 engines to hybrids. This know how and strategic vision will be valuable to AM.

It will be interesting to see whether AM will be able to fund in-house drivetrains or if they will partner up with another manufacturer.

 

[Rolf]

Looks like its official as its shown on the German press AB site about Moers been the new CEO for Aston Martin.

Realignment: AMG with new boss
Change in management at AMG: Tobias Moers joins Aston Martin. The new leadership will be a big step towards electrification for AMG!

Tobias Moers (54) hands over the executive chair from Mercedes-AMG . He changes to Aston Martin as CEO , where he succeeds Andy Palmer. The British sports car manufacturer also uses AMG units for its V8 engines . The change at the top management of AMG is even more exciting, because with the new appointment, the keyword "electromobility" will soon be an integral part of the fastest Benze.

Philipp Schiemer, former head of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil, takes over Moers' post . Jochen Hermann, current Head of Development eDrive at Daimler , will be the new head of technology and as such will be responsible for electric drives and battery research.

Plug-in hybrids for AMG
Moers had already announced that AMG plug-in hybrid technology would be introduced , starting with the C 63. The new appointments with Schiemer and Hermann will accelerate this development. Daimler CEO Ola Källenius: "You will continue to develop the company and take it to a new level. Electromobility will also play a major role for AMG in the future." Apart from the special models SLS electric drive and Mercedes-AMG One , the 53 series are definitely just the beginning of electrification at AMG. Tobias Moers will leave the company on August 1, 2020, according to Daimler at his own request.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

I like Moers a bit now (although he clearly doesn't need more money after AMG times):

LONDON -- Incoming Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers has agreed to a salary that is substantially below that of Andy Palmer, whose job he takes over at the struggling luxury UK automaker.

Moers is moving to Aston Martin from his current job as head of Mercedes performance arm AMG and will be paid 850,000 pounds ($1.05 million) a year, compared with the 1.2 million pounds a year Palmer received, according to filings to the UK stock exchange.

Moers' annual bonus scheme is potentially worth 200 percent of his salary compared with the 225 percent Palmer received.

Palmer had his bonus cut from 300 percent to the current rate for the current financial year following recommendations from the company's remuneration committee, according to the 2019 annual report published in March.

Palmer was paid no bonus for the 2019 financial year after the "threshold targets for adjusted EBITDA and net leverage [debt] were not met," the company report said
Palmer was paid 3 million pounds including bonus and pension in 2018.

Palmer agreed to a temporary 35 percent cut to his salary in April as part of a package to reduce the company's spending during the coronavirus shutdown.


Moers will also be paid 1 million euros "in compensation for the incentives forfeited on leaving his previous employer [Daimler]," according to the filing. Half will be paid when he starts his job on Aug. 1 and half paid when he has completed a year in the job.

Moers has been CEO at Mercedes-AMG since 2013.

The change in management comes after a group controlled by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll invested 500 million pounds ($656 million) in the automaker in February.

Stroll, now chairman, has unveiled a series of plans designed to reverse losses at Aston Martin, including abandoning a plan to raise sales to 14,000 by 2023, up from 5,809 last year.

He has also put on hold plans to revive the Lagonda name as a stand-alone luxury EV brand in order to focus on Aston's mid-engine supercar program.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

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He has also put on hold plans to revive the Lagonda name as a stand-alone luxury EV brand in order to focus on Aston's mid-engine supercar ...[/QUOTE]

An ICE mid-engined supercar as the subject of focus ?

While the car may be spectacular, the plan is, in my opinion, short-sighted and will render AMs' future prospects anything but secure. Under those circumstances...enjoy the party while it lasts for it will be brief.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

...
He has also put on hold plans to revive the Lagonda nam...

No question. AM lost focus completely. They did not focus on building a couple of core high-end products.
The motto was: "let us ***** out the brand to the max!"
Bikes, a second brand, racing (F1, WEC, DTM for fs sake!), hotel, yachts, glasses, apparel, the list goes on

 

[Deleted member 1071]

No question. AM lost focus completely. They did n...

I personally have never considered hypercars as being characteristic of Aston Martin. Throughout the companys' (at times) illustrious history its' been about athletically elegant 2 door, 2 as well as 2+2 GTs' and their competition + canvas-topped derivatives. Perhaps with the occasional suitable shooting brake added to the mix. Of course not to forget the sleek Lagonda sedans of yore.

I've often mentioned that BEV platforms offer an ideal foundation for truly exciting high performance cars. They are the canvas for elegant, designer-penned masterpieces and offer the artistic liberties of myriad architectures-included more "traditional" longer-bonneted, cabin-back fastback and 2 1/2 box configurations. I can accept a DBX, but exercises like the Valkyrie leave me estranged. AM is not Pagani, Koenigsegg, McLaren, Lamborghini...or Ferrari for that matter.
AM is about unconditionally tasteful, absolutely devoid of vulgarity automobiles of the highest order.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

I personally have never considered hypercars as being chara...

I agree with everything but I was glad they were making a hypercar like the Valkyrie....high-revving NA V12 from Cosworth, insane aero, etc. That said, my and others' enthusiasm does not equate to padding the bottom line. I just would like to see A-M thrive. Despite the amount of times the brand has been on death's door, a lack of A-M in the motoring world would just be sad.

 

[Centurion]

Despite the amount of times the brand has been on death's door, a lack of A-M in the motoring world would just be sad.

I agree. Aston Martin and Maserati are at the forefront of engineering but their brands and cars are sexy. They make you envision yourself wearing creed cologne, valet parking and a date dressed in heels and a cocktail dress.

 

[Rolf]

I agree. Aston Martin and Maserati are at the forefront o...

I wish for more success for both brands, just hearing the names Aston Martin and Maserati always awake up extreme emotions in me that always bring a smile to my face whenever I see them in real life. They brands that I have admired since my love for cars started when I was a small kid. I still remember Bonds always driving the Astons and then Maserati, I always remember the Bi-Turbo small coupes from the 1980's with their trident oval analogue clocks on the center console. They are both truly sensual and sexy car brands.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

The current DBS Superleggera very accurately embodies the AM spirit. Save the mild case of "louvered-vent rash", its' exterior aesthetic is immaculate. The interior is, to a somewhat lesser extent, bloody good as well. ICE V12s' are going the way of the dodo bird and battery technology is progressing rapidly. Range will soon be addressed, power delivery is indisputable. A DBS underpinned by a BEV platform is a tantalizing thought.

 

[Robbie]

I think that Mercedes-AMG will miss Moers. AMG has done phenomenally well under him. I can only think he was becoming unhappy with taking orders from head office (Ola) on what powertrains to use, as has been well publicised already in regard to the W206 C63. The new people seem to not be the enthusiasts that Moers is. Really hope I am wrong!

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

If Moers was growing unhappy at AMG due to Ola's direction, I am curious to see how his relationship will be with Stroll.

 

[Wunderkind]

If Moers was growing unhappy at AMG due to Ola's...

I don't think there is much Ola can do with the future emission laws and the need to move to electric drivetrains and platforms en mass (even the AMG ones).

 

[Robbie]

I don't think there is much Ola can do with the future...

Maybe so, but how come BMW M can and will keep the new M3 and M4 as 6-cylinder cars, yet AMG cannot?

 

[Robbie]

If Moers was growing unhappy at AMG due to Ola's...[/QUOTEe

If Moers was growing unhappy at AMG due to Ola's...

Good point, but I would think he will have more autonomy at AML than as a division of Daimler.