Andy Palmer leaves Aston Martin, AMG’s Tobias Moers becomes CEO

Charismatic former Nissan product chief Palmer was handed the reins to an almost-broke Aston in 2014 and has guided the company through a whirlwind of product launches, concepts, allegiances and investments. But since 2018, when he took the company public, a financial perfect storm has hit Gaydon, culminating  most recently with the coronavirus lockdown which decimated already hard-hit sales.

Palmer’s departure and the wider board reshuffle has been masterminded by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Aston’s executive chairman since January this year. That was when Stroll’s investment company invested £540m to rescue the firm  after its share price collapsed amid falling sales and a £119 million loss in the first three months of this year.

Lawrence Stroll said: “The board has determined that now is the time for new leadership to deliver our plans. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Andy for his hard work, personal commitment and dedication to Aston Martin Lagonda since 2014.”

Of Tobias Moers, Stroll said he was “an exceptionally talented automotive professional” and the “right leader for Aston Martin Lagonda as we implement our strategy for the business to achieve its full potential.” Under Moers’ leadership, Mercedes-AMG has more than doubled its model range and quadrupled sales. Moers has also been closely involved in the technical partnership between AMG and Aston Martin that has seen turbo V8 AMG engines powering the latest Aston models. 

Tobias Moers said: “I believe that there is a significant opportunity to harness the strengths of the business to successfully deliver the planned product expansion and brand elevation. I am truly excited to be joining Aston Martin Lagonda at this point of its development. I have always had a passion for performance cars and relish the chance to work for this iconic brand…”

Executive chairman Lawrence Stroll added: “All of my and Tobias’ energy will be dedicated to building on the company’s inherent strengths, its brand, its engineering prowess, and the skills of its people to enable Aston Martin to become one of the pre-eminent luxury car brands in the world.”

Aston Martin’s share price, which began at £19 at the IPO in 2018 but quickly fell back, is reported to have risen by more than a third on news of the reshuffle, from 35p to around 50p.

Palmer leaves Aston Martin on the cusp of launching the cars that could assure the marque’s future: the imminent DBX SUV – the car that Palmer famously insisted the company build in his second day in the job – and the coming new mid-engined Valhalla and Vanquish models. They are sure to go ahead as planned but it is not yet known what fate awaits Palmer’s plan  to resurrect Lagonda as a super-luxury electric-only brand, recently shelved until 2025.

Palmer’s era at Aston has seen more action than a James Bond movie. Apart from renewing key models like the DB11, Vantage and DBS Superleggera and their variants, the company has expanded its line-up with new road and track hypercars like the Vulcan, Valkyrie and, most recently, V12 Speedster.

It has rebooted its famous Italian design house collaboration with a range of Zagato specials, opened a brand new plant in South Wales to build the DBX, and recommissioned the heritage Newport Pagnell works to build continuation versions of Aston classics, each selling for millions of pounds.

Under Palmer, Aston has also grabbed headlines as an ambitious  global luxury brand by taking its name and signature design into the worlds of speed boats, helicopters, submersibles and flying cars.

It has all come with costs that, analysts agree, haven’t been met by an expected new-model sales boost, with the Vantage particularly getting off to a slow start even before the coronavirus hit. The last time Aston made a profit was 2018 when it sold more than 6,400 cars, with revenues hitting £1 billion.

Andy Palmer said: “It has been a privilege to serve Aston Martin Lagonda for almost six years. The launch of many new products including the new DBX demonstrates the dedication and capability of our employees. I would like to thank my management team and all the staff for their hard work and support, particularly during the challenges presented by COVID-19. I am proud of you all and it’s been an honour to work with you.”

Ten things we will remember about Andy Palmer’s reign at Aston Martin

• Taking the company public for the first time in its history
• Setting up a new factory at St. Athan to build the DBX, a car expected to double Aston production
• Keeping Aston at the forefront of GT racing and getting the marque’s name back into F1
• Putting his money where his mouth is and racing his cars himself, often at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard and sometimes in 24 hour endurance events
• Getting Mercedes-AMG V8s to work so well and sound so good in Aston models (but also for keeping the V12 in production!)
• Inspired head hunting – getting dynamics whizz Matt Becker from Lotus and driving guru Chris Goodwin from McLaren
• Enabling F1 legend Adrian Newey to develop a hypercar in the form of the Valkyrie
• Taking Aston off piste with planes, boats and flying cars… even a resurrected V8 Cygnet!
• Renewing the relationship with Zagato for limited-edition models in the manner of the first, the DB4 GT Zagato
• Continuation models galore, including the DB4 GT Zagato, only available to 19 people in a two-for-one deal at £6m (plus taxes) with a Zagato DBS