Mercedes could become 20 percent owner of Aston Martin

Mercedes-Benz AG will become a significant stockholder in Aston Martin Lagonda under an agreement announced October 27 by Lawrence Stroll, who has been executive chairman of the British sports car producer for the past six months.

“This is a transformational moment for Aston Martin,” Stoll was quoted in the company’s announcement. 

“In those six months since I became Executive Chairman, we have made significant progress. We have appointed a world-class leadership team with deep experience of this industry. We have aggressively and successfully de-stocked the dealer network to rebalance supply to demand. We have strengthened the financial resilience of the business and have taken decisive action on costs. We have also very successfully launched the DBX.

“Today, we take another major step forward as our long-term partnership with Mercedes-Benz AG moves to another level with them becoming one of the Company’s largest shareholders. Through this new expanded agreement, we secure access to world-class technologies to support our long-term product expansion plans, including electric and hybrid powertrains and this partnership underpins our confidence in the future.”

Under the agreement, Mercedes-Benz will share advanced technologies and will receive increased ownership up to a maximum of 20 percent, according to the announcement.

Under its new plan, Aston Martin Lagonda hopes to be producing around 10,000 vehicle a year by 2025.

Stoll also announced additional shareholders in Aston Martin — Zelon Holdings and Permian Investment Partners.

“The capabilities of Mercedes-Benz AG technology will be fundamental to ensure our future products remain competitive and will allow us to invest efficiently in the areas that truly differentiate our products,” added Tobias Moers, Aston Martin Labonda’s chief executive.

“We already have a successful technology partnership in place with Aston Martin that has benefited both companies,” said Wolf-Dieter Kurz, head of product strategy for Mercedes-Benz Cars. “With this new expanded partnership, we will be able to provide Aston Martin with access to new cutting-edge powertrain and software technologies and components, including next generation hybrid and electric drive systems.”

According to the announcement, the technology provided includes conventional, hybrid and electric powertrain architecture.

Stroll, 61, was an early investor in several clothing companies, including Tommy Hilfiger. A Ferrari collector, he rejuvenated the Circuit Mont-Tremblant race track in Canada and in 2018 led the group that bought the Ford India Formula One team, which became Racing Point with Stroll’s son, Lance, as one of its drivers. Earlier this year he led a group that took controlling interest in Aston Martin Lagonda.