Aston Martin’s new-boy CEO Tobias Moers is nine months into his new job after leaving Mercedes AMG to join the troubled British brand. One could make the argument that he was handpicked and parachuted in by Mercedes who have a vested interest in the luxury sports car company. So what has he been doing all this time? Speaking exclusively to Autocar, Moers outlined his recovery plan for Aston Martin a company permanently tip-toeing on the edge of a financial crisis. Aston Martin’s most recent troubles stemmed not from admittedly aging products but monied interests who lined their pockets at the expense of the company.
But the product has also come under scrutiny, Moers is using his forensic business and commercial acumen to steer Aston Martin to a financially secure path. During his interview, Moers revealed that he is effectively making cuts to various projects. The planned in-house made V6 project is culled. The plan to relaunch Lagonda into an ultra-luxury Rolls Royce rivaling brand is no more.
Electrification such as mild-hybrid and full-fat hybrids is the way to go. Aston Martin will source all hybrid technology from Mercedes. Production of the Valkyrie ultra-hypercar will continue and the technical partnership with Red Bull F1 is uninterrupted. The current range of supercars will receive model updates, facelifts, special editions and upgraded infotainment systems. A pure electric sports car is planned for a 2025 launch.
The DBX will get a high-performance version and could be spun off into a marginally less expensive compact Super-SUV. Moers also boasted of improving current production quality by “double digits” without specifying how he achieved it. For example, how do you measure a double-digit improvement in quality standards? what metrics are used? Methinks Tobias Moers is doing a bit of publicity here.
Under the Tobias Moers plan, Aston Martin is targeting annual sales of 10,000-12,000 per year. It has taken Aston Martin 100 years to get to where they are now. How is Moers going to double sales in 4-years? that is the big unknown question. The plan sounds good on paper, but reality for Aston Martin is a known unknown.
