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Aston Martin confirms Mercedes-AMG boss Moers to replace CEO Palmer

Aston Martin confirmed on Tuesday that Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, would become chief executive on August 1, replacing Andy Palmer, who stepped down on Monday. The Financial Times newspaper reported over the weekend that Palmer would step down, before he had been informed. A source familiar with the situation had also confirmed to Reuters the planned move. "The board has determined that now is the time for new leadership to deliver our plans," Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin Lagonda's Executive Chairman said. The company said Moers, who will be based at its headquarters in Warwickshire, had built a reputation for transforming businesses in tough environments during his 25 years in senior roles at Daimler. Germany's Daimler AG owns a 5% stake in Aston Martin and supplies the carmaker with Mercedes-AMG engines. "Under Tobias’ leadership, Mercedes-AMG has more than doubled its product portfolio and quadrupled the number of AMG units sold, with a clear pipeline of further expansion opportunities, especially in electrification of powertrains in the performance segment," Aston Martin said in a statement. "TobiasÂ’ focus on operating and manufacturing efficiency has delivered significant margin expansion. This strong financial performance was supported by the introduction of a clear brand management strategy, which delivered a measurable increase in brand value and awareness." Aston Martin 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. "All of my and TobiasÂ’ energy will be dedicated to building on the CompanyÂ’s inherent strengths, its brand, its engineering prowess, and the skills of its people to enable Aston Martin to become one of the pre-eminent luxury car brands in the world," Stroll said. Related video:

Aston Martin teams with Red Bull Racing for new supercar

Aston Martin has a new supercar in the works. Only this time, it isn't going it alone. Dubbed project AM-RB 001, this model is being jointly developed by the British automaker and Red Bull Racing. The freshly inked "Innovation Partnership" has been a long time in the making and will combine the talents of Aston Martin's chief designer Marek Reichman with those of Red Bull's legendary technical director Adrian Newey. Motorsports consultancy AF Racing AG will also collaborate with Q by Aston Martin Advanced and Red Bull Advanced Technologies to get the project off the ground and onto the road – and the track. Unfortunately, as the press release below and teaser image above are decidedly sparing with the details. But Reichman says the partnership is "in the process of developing a hypercar that combines the latest in aerodynamics from F1 and the stunning design language of an Aston martin sports car." One way or another, we trust it will prove a worthy successor to the likes of the exotic One-77 and the track-bound Vulcan. This isn't the first time we've seen Aston's chief exec Andy Palmer broker a partnership with Red Bull, having previously chaired the team's longtime sponsor Infiniti. Nor is it the first time we're seeing Red Bull dip its toes outside the confines of the F1 regulations – only its previous designs remained limited strictly to the cyberspace of the Gran Turismo gaming series. We'll be watching closely to see how this supercar project comes together. Related Video: ASTON MARTIN AND RED BULL RACING TO CREATE NEXT GENERATION HYPERCAR 17 March, 2016, Melbourne: British luxury brand Aston Martin and Formula One team Red Bull Racing are today announcing a partnership which sees Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin's Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman collaborate to produce a ground-breaking Aston Martin hypercar. Codenamed Project 'AM-RB 001', the new hypercar will represent the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1TM technology with Aston Martin's signature sports car design. The combined talents of Newey, widely noted as the most successful Formula One designer of all time, and Reichman, Aston Martin's design chief since 2005, are set to produce the ultimate hypercar. Combining the strongest elements of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Aston Martin, this new Innovation Partnership unites the world's best aerodynamicists, composite experts and manufacturing masters.

Aston Martin recalling 6,076 for locking doors

The Basics: Aston Martin is recalling 6,076 cars because of an issue with the vehicles' door locks. The vehicles include: the 2010-2015 Aston Martin DB9, 2010-2012 DBS, 2010-2016 Rapide, 2010-2016 V8 Vantage, 2012 Virage, 2014-2016 Vanquish, 2011-2016 V12 Vantage, and 2012-2013 V12 Zagato. The Problem: The affected cars, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), come with interior door unlocking components that may not function properly when the car is locked from the outside. This may result in an occupant being trapped inside the vehicle. Injuries/Deaths: None reported. The Fix: Aston Martin dealers will disable the vehicles' double locking feature by reprogramming the mechanism's software at no charge. If you own one: Aston Martin will notify owners with the recall expected to begin in August. Related Video: Description of the Noncompliance: The subject vehicles contain a full locking system software, which according to an interpretation letter issued by NHTSA, does not meet certain door lock requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 206, Door locks and door retention components (49 C.F.R §571.206). In the subject vehicles, each door is equipped with a locking mechanism with an operating means from the interior of the vehicle. However, when the full locking system is mobilised (by double locking the vehicle), this disengages the interior operating means for unlocking the door locking mechanism. As such, the full locking system is an effective anti-theft measure. FMVSS 1 : 206 - Door locks and door retention components FMVSS 2 : NR Description of the Safety Risk: In an affected vehicle, where the full locking system has been activated from the exterior, there is a risk that occupants are unable to unlock the doors from the inside of the vehicle. In relation to our 4-door sports cars (Rapide and Rapide S), this risk is the same as if a person were in a vehicle in which the child locks were engaged. However, all our vehicles have an acoustic warning device (i.e. horn), which can still be activated from the interior of the vehicle when the ignition is switched off and the full locking system is activated. Furthermore, some vehicles are fitted with an alarm system with interior detection, which is able to detect an occupant's movement and will activate the vehicle's alarm if the full locking mechanism is activated and occupants are detected inside the vehicle.