Yahoo Autos Aston Martin to Gain Tech from Closer Mercedes-Benz Ties
Aston Martin announced today that its tie-up with Mercedes-Benz will increase, with the German automaker raising its stake from 2.3 to 20 percent.
In exchange, Mercedes will be sharing more technology, especially electrified powertrains, with Aston Martin.
We've heard from Aston insiders that they are interested in the flat-plane-crank V-8 that AMG has developed for its GT Black Series.
News that Mercedes is set to take a sizable stake in Aston Martin is no great surprise for those who have been watching the British company's waning fortunes over the past few years. Aston already uses both AMG's 4.0-liter V-8 engine and Daimler’s electrical architecture; since April, former AMG boss Tobias Moers has also been Aston CEO.
Mercedes already has a small stake in Aston, currently 2.3 percent, but that is set to be dramatically increased in exchange for Aston Martin's access to the larger company's powertrain expertise. According to plans announced this afternoon, Mercedes will gradually increase its ownership up to 20 percent, second only to the holding of Aston's executive chairman, Lawrence Stroll.
The plan is to use Mercedes technology to achieve a rapid electrification of the model range, and also to drive a sizable increase in sales. Aston says it wants to be selling 10,000 cars a year globally as soon as 2024. That's a serious ask given the company sold fewer than 6000 cars last year and has suffered substantial COVID-19 disruption in 2020.
