Andy Palmer is being dramatically sacked as the chief executive of Aston Martin as the British marque’s share price continues to fall.
An official announcement will be made on Tuesday as part of a serious shakeup at the automaker. The Guardian understands that Palmer will be replaced by the current chief executive of Mercedes-AMG, Tobias Moers.
Palmer has served as the head of Aston Martin since 2014 having previously had a long tenure at Nissan and Infiniti. He has been instrumental in the launch of the DBX SUV as well as Aston Martin’s forthcoming fleet of mid-engined supercars and hypercar, the Valkyrie, Valhalla, and Vanquish.
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Despite this work, Aston Martin’s shares have collapsed since its October 2018 public listing and seen the company’s market valuation fall from more than £4 billion ($4.87 billion) to £562 million ($684 million) on Friday.
Aston Martin announced earlier this month that its losses had ballooned to £119 million ($144 million) in the first three months of the year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The company sold just 578 cars to dealerships in the first quarter, a 45 per cent drop from the same period in 2019.
In a statement issued on Sunday, an Aston Martin spokesman confirmed the company “is reviewing its management team and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”
As for Moers, he has been the head of Mercedes-AMG since late 2013 and overseen the diversification of the performance brand’s product portfolio and the launch of its F1-powered Mercedes-AMG One hybrid hypercar.
Tobias Moers