Although it may not seem so on the surface, legendary auto manufacturer Aston Martin is in deep financial trouble. Since October 2018, the value of their shares have plummeted by about 75%. But the company can breathe a sigh of relief, albeit a small one, as Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll has won a bid to take a 16.7% stake in the company worth about $239 million USD.
Lawrence Stroll made his money in the fashion industry and is the father of Lance Stroll; the current F1 racing driver for the Racing Point F1 team which his father co-owns. The news of Lawrence purchasing a stake in Aston Martin will lead to some changes not only for their F1 efforts, but also their road cars.
Starting with Formula 1, the current Racing Point F1 team will become the Aston Martin factory F1 team for the 2021 season. The 2021 season will be a big shake up as a new set of rules will be introduced to aid in more overtaking as well as reducing costs for all teams. There will not be any major changes to the current 2020 F1 season as Aston Martin will still sponsor the Red Bull F1 team.
As for the Aston Martin road cars, Lawrence Stroll will be injecting an immediate $72.8 million USD into the company to keep operations going. This will aid in the launch of the eagerly anticipated Aston Martin DBX SUV as well as help the Aston Martin Valkyrie reach the production phase for shipment to customers. This new “halo” car from Aston Martin will still be co-developed with the aid of Red Bull Advanced Technologies until all deliveries are completed.
With the company restructuring, Aston Martin’s future road cars will also be affected. The upcoming Valhalla will be revealed in 2022 with the new Vanquish pushed back after it. Its all electric Lagonda sub-brand will also be pushed back with its relaunch no later than 2025. With the delay in all-electric powertrains, Aston Martin will continue to develop a new V6 engine that is based on their current V12 engines. Aston have not said if its partnership with Mercedes-Benz will end or continue. Mercedes currently supplies engines and other components to Aston Martin models such as the DB11 and Vantage.
Moving forward, Aston martin has said that it will prioritize production of the DBX, reduce operating costs from $13.16 million USD annually to $9.21 million USD, deliver the Valkyrie later this year, and relaunch the Vantage.
