Andy Palmer to quit as Aston Martin CEO after shares plunge

Will be replaced with Mercedes-AMG CEO Tobias Moers

Aston Martin’s financial woes are well documented and the coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated problems for the British carmaker. Following a 98 per cent collapse in the luxury car company’s share price since it floated on the stock market less than two years ago, a major management shake-up is on the cards and it starts with Andy Palmer being sacked as CEO.

Palmer has served as the head of Aston Martin since 2014 having previously had a long tenure at Nissan and Infiniti. He looks set to be replaced by Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG since late 2013.

The move for Tobias is not a surprise, not when Mercedes-AMG's parent company, Daimler, already owns a 5 per cent stake in Aston Martin and supplies the brand with its AMG-built engines.

In January, Aston Martin received a major financial lifeline when Lawrence Stroll led a group of investors to purchase a 25 percent stake in the company for $657 million. The Canadian billionaire immediately put the brakes on Aston’s electric vehicle plans with its revitalized Lagonda brand - one of Palmer's main initiatives, along with the DBX SUV. Instead, Stroll wants to have an Aston Martin F1 team.

The DBX needs to be a financial success otherwise Aston Martin – whose share price continues to fall - will find themselves in a bigger financial mess.

Aston Martin’s shares have collapsed since its October 2018 public listing and seen the company’s market valuation fall from more than £4 billion ($4.87 billion) to £562 million ($684 million).

Its losses had ballooned to £119 million ($144 million) in the first three months of the year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.