Aston Martin is best known as James Bond’s car maker
(Picture: PA Wire)The bumpy road ridden by Aston Martin since joining the stock market four years ago shows no sign of letting up.
The luxury car maker surprised investors today by announcing the departure of its chief executive, just two years after he was brought in to much fanfare with a mandate to turn around the business.
Tobias Moers is leaving with immediate effect and will be replaced by former Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa, previously a non-executive director at James Bond’s car maker.
Moers, a former Mercedes-Benz executive, joined as CEO in May 2020 shortly after Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll took charge as part of a rescue deal.
At the time, Stroll praised the German businessman as “an exceptionally talented automotive professional and a proven business leader” and said :”All of my and Tobias’ energy will be dedicated to building on the Company’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.”
Moers was hired to improve the fortunes of the luxury marquee, which struggled badly after going public in 2018.
Under Moers, losses at the business more than halved last year and revenue jumped, but delays to Aston Martin’s Valkyrie “hyper car” project left the share price under a cloud.
Figures released alongside today’s announcement show revenue rose 4% to £232.7 million in the first three months of 2022 but operating losses ballooned by 212% to £47.7 million.
Stroll said today: “I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation for all that Tobias has achieved. He joined Aston Martin at a critical time for the Company and brought significant discipline to its operations.
“Now, there is a need for the business to enter a new phase of growth with a new leadership team and structure to ensure we deliver on our goals.”
Felisa said taking over was “very exciting”.
“We have a clear objective to continue the transformation of Aston Martin into an ultra-luxury, high-performance brand and become a leader in our sector,” he said.
Felisa is the third CEO to take charge of Aston Martin in three years. Moers took over from Dr Andy Palmer, who had led the company since its IPO.
Shares accelerated 70.90, or 8.4%, to 916.5p. The company went public at £19 per share.
