Aston Martin chief exits in company shake-up
Andy Palmer, the Nissan veteran who joined Aston Martin in 2014 to help revive the company, is leaving the classic brand made famous by James Bond movies as part of a management shake-up.
“My departure is immediate,” Mr Palmer told The National.
Mr Palmer’s exit was first reported by the Financial Times, which said the luxury car maker would name Tobias Moers, who runs the AMG performance arm of Mercedes-Benz, as its new head.
An announcement about the changes will “be made as and when appropriate”, Aston Martin told Bloomberg after the newspaper’s report on Sunday.
The former No 3 executive at Nissan joined Aston Martin, which has been insolvent seven times in its 105-year existence, with a mandate to turn the company around as part of a seven-year plan to diversify the car models produced and scale up the business across the globe.
He would build on his experience at the Japanese manufacturer and import the lean monozukuri manufacturing principles across the corporate culture of Aston Martin.
However, as the car manufacturer went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, its share price did not immediately perform well and Mr Palmer told The National shortly after the debut that what mattered most was the long-term evolution of the company.
The company’s shares have declined by about 94 per cent since its listing because of excess supply to its dealerships and a slowdown among luxury buyers.
Aston Martin reported a £119 million (Dh532m / $145m) loss in the first three months of this year, in part because factories and dealers closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Covid-19 and the resulting global economic shutdown “had a material impact on our performance this quarter but during this unprecedented time, we completed a £536m capital raise and continued to implement our exciting strategy to reset and safeguard the long-term future of the business”, Mr Palmer said in a regulatory filing announcing the results.
“Part of the reset includes reducing our global dealer inventory to a luxury norm to rebalance supply and demand, to build resilience and profitability for the future,” he said.
“We have made significant progress on this, with dealer inventory reducing by 428 units compared to the start of the year.”
The US accounts for 30 per cent of the company’s total sales, followed by the UK. Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, which includes China, are in third and fourth place, respectively.
The Middle East accounts for 10 per cent of the car maker’s sales.
Mr Palmer, who oversaw the Nissan Patrol that is widely popular across the Arab world, was bullish on promoting Aston Martin’s Dh694,197 fourwheel drive DBX globally.
The DBX competes with rivals introduced by Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce.
Ferrari, which Aston Martin considers its peer and rival since it is the only other luxury company that is publicly listed, was according to pre-Covid-19 plans set to release its Purosangue 4x4 in 2022.
In its first quarter disclosure,
Aston Martin said it could not give a clear view on the full-year outlook.
The business was being reset this year through measures to reduce core wholesale revenue and rebalance supply to demand.
However, “the uncertainty surrounding the duration and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy, makes it not possible to provide a clear view on the full year outlook and the company withdraws the previous guidance for the year”, Aston Martin said.
Earlier this month, the car maker said it assumed trading would remain challenging and announced plans to take further action on operating costs and focus on cash conservation.
“Given the ongoing uncertainties, as is prudent, the company continues to review all future funding and refinancing options to increase liquidity,” it said.
Aston Martin’s shares are down by about 94 per cent since its listing, partly due to oversupply to its dealerships