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Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer to leave in favor of AMG chief Tobias Moers

Aston Martin Chief Executive Andy Palmer is leaving the business as part of a management shake-up and will be replaced by Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. The luxury carmaker said in an emailed statement that it is reviewing its management team but declined to comment on Palmer's fate. Palmer and Germany's Daimler, which owns a 5% stake in Aston Martin and supplies the carmaker with Mercedes-AMG engines, also declined to comment. The Financial Times newspaper had reported earlier that the Aston Martin chief was going to leave as part of a shake-up of its leadership, with an official announcement expected on Tuesday. Palmer had not been informed of the upcoming announcement, the newspaper reported. Aston Martin, famed for being fictional secret agent James Bond's car of choice, has seen its share price plummet since floating in October 2018. The 107-year old British luxury carmaker earlier this month posted a deep first-quarter loss after sales dropped by almost a third due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The company has been banking on its sport utility vehicle to drive sales in a new segment, and said production was on track. In January, dire conditions forced the company to bring in Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll who bought a roughly 20% stake for nearly 200 million pounds ($263 million), as the ailing carmaker sought to raise funds. The coronavirus pandemic and shutdowns caused by it have hit demand and forced factories around the world to suspend production, negatively impacting many industries, including car manufacturers. "We were obviously fairly significantly hit by COVID-19, starting with China in January but more clearly in what we saw as it came across towards Europe and the United States," Palmer told Reuters earlier in May. Related Video:

Mercedes G63 AMG 6x6 is sold out

Sometimes automakers go absolutely bonkers and bequeath a product on the world that makes no logical sense – except to make people grin from ear to ear. The Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6X6 is just such a vehicle with six wheels, three axles, five differentials and a 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 536 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of torque. The result is a truck that looks more appropriate to handle the dystopian future rather than any paved road on Earth, especially the $1.35 million armored version. Unfortunately, if you have a hankering to own a brand-new example, it's too late because Mercedes is ending production of the behemoth. Since introducing the 6X6 in 2013, Mercedes actually sold more than it originally anticipated by moving more than 100 of them, according to GT Spirit, but the German automaker has ended production to keep the model special. Still, those production numbers aren't too shabby considering the truck's ultra-niche nature and base price of 379,000 euros ($430,000 at current exchange rates). While wealthy clients who desire luxury with their off-roading can no longer order the 6X6, Mercedes isn't entirely abandoning these customers yet. The company is already previewing the G500 4x42 that takes the six-wheeler's pumped up suspension and wheels but reinterprets the look on the more conventional, two-axle body style. Buyers might have to accept a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8, though. A debut for the new model is expected for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in early March. Related Video:

Aston wants to build DBX on its new platform, not Mercedes'

Aston Martin is proceeding with plans to launch the DBX as its first production crossover. It just can't say at this point what it will be based on. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Aston's new CEO Andy Palmer indicated that basing the DBX on a Mercedes SUV platform would not be its first choice because they "clearly sit in a very different space to the one we want to go" with the DBX. Instead, the company's first choice would be to build the crossover atop the new platform it's developing for its sports cars. "It just depends how high off the ground it could go," said Palmer. "I don't exclude the possibility of using some [Mercedes] parts, but I would say very much the primary route is our platform." The prospect of building an Aston SUV on Mercedes architecture – namely that of the GL-Class – has been on the table for some time now. The Lagonda SUV concept it showcased at the Geneva show in 2009 was based on the GL, and the two automakers have been forging a tightening alliance in the years since. The British automaker's next-generation engine is to be built by Mercedes-AMG, and it is expected to source other components from the German automaker as well. For its part, Mercedes has been taking a sportier approach with its latest crossovers, as demonstrated by the GLE Coupe that debuted before the more conventional version and the Concept GLC Coupe that previewed the GLK's replacement in Shanghai last month. Aston Martin, on the other hand, is building a new sports car platform that will underpin its next generation of luxury GTs, replacing the long-serving VH architecture that has served for decades as the basis for its entire model line. Perhaps the most surprising of ANE's report, though, is that Aston seems to be proceeding with plans to build the DBX apparently without even knowing what platform it will use.