Georg Kacher on Aston’s new chapter
Running a premium car maker on a shoestring budget can’t be easy, but Tobias Moers and Lawrence Stroll are bullish about Aston Martin’s future. Encouraged by a slight recovery on the stock market, the team at the top recently said they were aiming to double sales by 2025, with a yearly profit target of £500m. Crucial to the plan is Aston’s agreement with Moers’ old employer, allowing access to Mercedes tech for all new models up to 2027.
Progress will be slow for the first couple of years, with the real product fireworks starting in 2023. The new bosses are keen to make the most of the SUV craze by adding an even sportier five-door coupe to the DBX range.
It will be up against rivals including the Ferrari Purosangue, and will draw styling inspiration from the 2019 All-Terrain show car.
It will be followed by an extended-wheelbase seven-seater which will reportedly be badged Aston Martin Lagonda. Previous plans to make Lagonda an electric-only sub-brand have been parked, so don’t expect it to be an EV.
The over-budget and behind-schedule V12 Valkyrie and V6 Valhalla and Vanquish supercars are a headache for Aston’s new management. An expensive headache – the V6 may die, and the Valkyrie will be accompanied by a track-only AMR Pro, to help recoup some development costs. If mid-engined supercars seem a bit of a stretch for a company that’s mostly focused on the fine DBX and the soon to be uprated Vantage, they make more sense when you consider that billionaire businessman and F1 team owner Stroll is keen to see Aston Martin tap into its new status as a Formula 1 team from 2021. Why spend to win in F1 if none of your road cars can lay claim to any kind of technical relationship?