Aston Martin CEO may be replaced, report says

Aston Martin is seeking a replacement for CEO Tobias Moers because of the automaker’s continuing financial woes, a report said.

Moers, a former head of Mercedes-AMG performance division, has held the role for less than two years.

A potential candidate for the CEO job has been approached, according to Autocar motoring magazine, which cited unnamed sources.

Aston Martin told Automotive News Europe it “did not comment on speculation.”

Aston Martin’s precarious financial position was further weakened with on Friday when the automaker said it sees annual adjusted core earnings to be about 15 million pounds ($20 million) lower than expected due to delays in shipments of its 2.4 million-pound ($3.3 million) limited-edition Valkyrie hypercars last year.

The automaker shipped just 10 Valkyrie cars in the fourth quarter, lowering adjusted Ebitda by about 15 million pounds.

Aston Martin said it still reached its goal of delivering 6,182 cars to dealers last year thanks to robust demand for the DBX, its first SUV. The total was up 82 percent from the year before when the company drastically cut back production to reduce dealer stock levels.

Aston Martin will publish full-year results on Feb. 24. In November, the automaker posted a third-quarter pre-tax loss of 97.9 million pounds ($130.01 million).

Moers, a German engineer, became Aston Martin CEO on Aug. 1, 2020, replacing Andy Palmer.

Moers has overseen the departure of a number of executives from the automaker.

In December, CFO Kenneth Gregor said he would leave the company after 18 months in the role, citing personal reasons.

Other significant departures since Moers’ arrival include head of special operations, David King, who moved to Fisker, and vehicle attributes chief Matt Becker, who left to join McLaren Automotive.

Aston Martin is majority owned by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who is seeking to rebuild the company following a financial crisis caused in part by the pandemic in 2020.

Bloomberg contributed to this report