Mercedes Benz will increase its stake in Aston Martin from 2.6 per cent to 20 per cent as part of the expansion of technical cooperation between the two automakers, according to media reports.
In a statement Tuesday, Mercedes Benz said Aston Martin would acquire advanced technology from Mercedes Benz, including the next generation hybrid and electric drive systems.
As part of the partnership, Mercedes Benz will receive a new stake in Aston Martin. But it also said it would not hold more than 20 per cent of Aston Martin.
“We have established a successful technical partnership with Aston Martin, which is good for both companies,” Wolfe dieterkurz, chief product strategy officer of Mercedes, told reporters. With this new expanded partnership, we will be able to provide Aston Martin with new cutting-edge technologies and components. ”
By expanding its cooperation with Mercedes since 2013, Aston Martin will protect its already tight balance sheet from the huge spending that companies have incurred from the internal combustion engine.
Mercedes will not inject any cash into its partners, and its move to provide Aston Martin with electric vehicle technology will promote the economies of scale effect beyond Mercedes’ own products.
In less than two years after listing, Aston Martin has been struggling, and its core sports car products have been facing a dilemma of high inventory and low sales, which also weakens its efforts to copy the success cases of Ferrari stock market.
Earlier this year, Canadian billionaire Laurence strow saved Aston Martin. On August 1, former head of Mercedes AMG performance at Daimler took over Andy Palmer as chief executive of Aston Martin.