RE: Mercedes to take 20 per cent stake in Aston Martin
Discussion
hyphen said:
Excellent news, and the "upto 20%" line in the article indicates the contract is reasonable.
Now as long as they don't follow the VAG brands and start using the Mercedes parts bin for everything Aston should hopefully have a lot less pressure on itself.
At least Mercedes produce cars well into Aston Martins price range, meaning if the shared parts are from the right bin, they won’t look out of place!Now as long as they don't follow the VAG brands and start using the Mercedes parts bin for everything Aston should hopefully have a lot less pressure on itself.
Looks like a good deal and hopefully secures AM a brighter future.
While this is encouraging, AM needs to take the technology it receives for equity given and turn that into product with demand. No cash is involved. Right now, it appears that AM's cash burn is putting the entity at risk. So is this enough in time? Let's hope so. Yet no one wants AM to make MB clones.
There is some cash involved with an equity and debt issuance that does not involve MB (Daimler). Those proceeds will refinance some existing debt though also provide some cash - hard to tell right now how much. Money is cheap right now but one part of the financing (on 259 million pounds) is 13.5% - and those have what looks like a contingent equity kicker. AM isn't giving up but their financings are getting expensive.
There is some cash involved with an equity and debt issuance that does not involve MB (Daimler). Those proceeds will refinance some existing debt though also provide some cash - hard to tell right now how much. Money is cheap right now but one part of the financing (on 259 million pounds) is 13.5% - and those have what looks like a contingent equity kicker. AM isn't giving up but their financings are getting expensive.
Edited by ManyMotors on Tuesday 27th October 21:21
ManyMotors said:
Yet no one wants AM to make MB clones.
All low volume manufacturers create Frankensteins. My S1 Elise has a Citroën AX wiper arm, Peugeot light switches, Rover engine, and Vauxhall indicators. AM is no different.Just hope that AM now gets the latest kit from MB rather than the v old gen tech seen in the Vantage and DBX.
HocusPocus said:
ManyMotors said:
Yet no one wants AM to make MB clones.
All low volume manufacturers create Frankensteins. My S1 Elise has a Citroën AX wiper arm, Peugeot light switches, Rover engine, and Vauxhall indicators. AM is no different.Just hope that AM now gets the latest kit from MB rather than the v old gen tech seen in the Vantage and DBX.
Fittster said:
HocusPocus said:
ManyMotors said:
Yet no one wants AM to make MB clones.
All low volume manufacturers create Frankensteins. My S1 Elise has a Citroën AX wiper arm, Peugeot light switches, Rover engine, and Vauxhall indicators. AM is no different.Just hope that AM now gets the latest kit from MB rather than the v old gen tech seen in the Vantage and DBX.
Motormatt said:
At least Mercedes produce cars well into Aston Martins price range, meaning if the shared parts are from the right bin, they won’t look out of place!
Looks like a good deal and hopefully secures AM a brighter future.
You've never forgiven them for using Maestro door handles.Looks like a good deal and hopefully secures AM a brighter future.
LukeyC said:
Fittster said:
HocusPocus said:
ManyMotors said:
Yet no one wants AM to make MB clones.
All low volume manufacturers create Frankensteins. My S1 Elise has a Citroën AX wiper arm, Peugeot light switches, Rover engine, and Vauxhall indicators. AM is no different.Just hope that AM now gets the latest kit from MB rather than the v old gen tech seen in the Vantage and DBX.
rjfp1962 said:
AM(G) in drag....!
This. On the one hand it’s great that AM keep afloat once again, but how able will they be to keep producing cars that are uniquely Aston. Oh, and please, please let someone from Mercedes start designing the Aston interiors. They’ve been a complete dog’s dinner for far too long. It’s the one thing that puts me off jumping ship from Porsche.
Fittster said:
HocusPocus said:
ManyMotors said:
Yet no one wants AM to make MB clones.
All low volume manufacturers create Frankensteins. My S1 Elise has a Citroën AX wiper arm, Peugeot light switches, Rover engine, and Vauxhall indicators. AM is no different.Just hope that AM now gets the latest kit from MB rather than the v old gen tech seen in the Vantage and DBX.
I sat in the Vantage at its Goodwood reveal. Lots to like i the masculine design, noisy version of the MB turbo v8, but they installed the worst MBUX system ever. Impractical to operate whilst driving. On that basis alone, I decided then not to buy. Perhaps if these horror parts are sorted, I might give AM another look.
On a tour of the Newport Pagnell factory in the 90s, our guide said there was a club of smaller car manufacturers who met periodically to discuss shared parts and parts they might use from mainstream manufacturers. He recited a list of members, "Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Bristol, Morgan, Lotus - not TVR..." It stuck in my mind.
I looked at their projections - £2 b revenue, 10,000 cars and EBITDA of £500million.
I'm no maths expert - does that mean selling 10,000 cars at an average sales price of £200,000 with a 25% margin? £50,000 margin per car.
Do people in the car trade think this forecast is anyway realistic?
I'm no maths expert - does that mean selling 10,000 cars at an average sales price of £200,000 with a 25% margin? £50,000 margin per car.
Do people in the car trade think this forecast is anyway realistic?
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