There was already a technological partnership between the aston martin and the Mercedes-Benz , which allowed the English manufacturer not only to use AMG's V8s to equip some of its models, but also to adopt the electronic architecture of the German manufacturer. Now this technological partnership will be strengthened and extended.
2020 is going to be a year that many of us will hardly forget, something that is also true for Aston Martin, considering all the developments it has seen this year.
After the poor commercial and financial results in the first quarter of the year (pre-Covid-19), and a consequent significant devaluation on the stock market, Lawrence Stroll (director of the Formula 1 Racing Point team) stepped in to recover Aston Martin, leading an investment consortium that also guaranteed him 25% of Aston Martin Lagonda.
It was the moment that ultimately determined the departure of CEO Andy Palmer, with Tobias Moers taking his place at Aston Martin.
Moers was very successful as a director at AMG, a position he had held since 2013 in the high performance division of Mercedes-Benz, being one of the main responsible for its continued growth.
Good relations with Daimler (Mercedes-Benz's parent company) seem to have been guaranteed.
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This is what we can infer from this new announcement, where the technological partnership between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz was reinforced and extended. The agreement between the two manufacturers will see Mercedes-Benz supply a greater variety of powertrains — from so-called conventional engines (internal combustion) to hybrids and even electric —; and expanded access to electronic architectures, for all models that will be launched by 2027.
What does Mercedes-Benz get in return?
As might be expected, Mercedes-Benz would not come out of this “waving hands” agreement. So, in exchange for its technology, the German manufacturer will get a bigger stake in the British manufacturer.
Mercedes-Benz AG currently has a 2.6% stake in Aston Martin Lagonda, but with this agreement we will see that stake grow progressively up to 20% over the next three years.
ambitious goals
With this agreement signed, the future looks more assured for the small manufacturer. The British review their strategic plans and launch models and, we can say, are more ambitious.
Aston Martin aims to reach 2024/2025 with sales of around 10,000 units annually (it sold approximately 5900 units in 2019). With the goal of sales growth achieved, turnover should be in the order of 2.2 billion euros and profits in the region of 550 million euros.
We're not sure what new Aston Martin models will be on the way, but according to Autocar, which got statements from both Lawrence Stroll and Tobias Moers, there will be plenty of news. The first models to benefit from this agreement will arrive at the end of 2021, but the year 2023 promises to be the one that will bring the most innovations.
Lawrence Stroll was even more specific. He noted that the 10,000 units/year would be made up of sports cars with both a front and center rear engine (new Valhalla and Vanquish) and an “SUV product portfolio” — the DBX won't be the only SUV. He added that in 2024, 20-30% of sales will be hybrid models, with the first 100% electric to appear never before 2025 (the concept and 100% electric Lagonda Vision and All-Terrain seem to take a long time or even stay for the first time. path).