Aston Martin and AMG had been working on finalising an agreement since a Letter of Intent was signed in July. The deal is finally complete and AMG GmbH, a subsidiary of German automotive group Daimler AG, entered into a technical agreement with Aston Martin yesterday. This will give the British company access to AMG’s engines and electrical architecture. In return, Daimler has been given a five per cent silent, non-voting stake in the company. It will also be granted an ‘observer status’ on Aston Martin’s board which includes investment firms like Prime Wagon, Adeem Investment and Investindustrial among others.
"This strategic collaboration for Aston Martin will, in our next generation of luxury sports cars, offer our customers increased performance and efficiency whilst retaining the unique character and style of an Aston Martin," the company-statement said. Ola Källenius, Head of Mercedes-AMG GmbH added, “We are proud to work with Aston Martin and provide them with powertrain and e/e components for their forthcoming sports cars.”
Currently, the Gaydon-based manufacturer uses V8 and V12 engines for its cars that are made by Ford in Cologne, Germany. According to the new agreement, AMG will supply 'bespoke' V8 engines for Aston’s next generation of sports cars. So we can expect to see altered versions of AMG’s twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 in the British sports cars soon. It can be assumed that the partnership will allow Aston Martin to use Mercedes' smaller engines, as well as entire vehicle platforms for future Aston Martin cars.
In December 2012, Italian private equity fund Investindustrial had signed a deal to buy 37.5 per cent of the century-old car maker. This had given loss-making manufacturer a capital-infusion of £150 million (Rs 1,52,114 lakh).
Previously, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz had joined forces in 2009 to create the Lagonda SUV concept that deuted at the Geneva Motor Show that year.
