Former Nissan senior executive Andy Palmer proposed buying a stake in Aston Martin when he was still with the Japanese automaker. A report from Reuters indicated that before Palmer takes the reigns as CEO of Aston Martin later this month, he was in the ear of Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn about investing in the British company.
Nissan ultimately turned down Palmer’s proposal, sources told Reuters.
Palmer’s move to Aston Martin comes after he successfully brokered an alliance between the company’s luxury brand Infiniti and Daimler, which, incidentally has a five-percent stake in Aston Martin. This automotive merry-go-round is a tad bit confusing, but it’ll make sense if recent reports of Daimler buying out Aston Martin come to fruition.
Aston Martin’s one of the last luxury car brands to not have a parent auto group. That’s kept the company out of important funding that it otherwise could have used to stay competitive in a market that’s becoming more saturated as rival brands, like Fiat-owned Maserati, continue expanding their lineups.
In its current state, Aston Martin is continuously losing money and needs new investors. Having Palmer run the show could serve as a precursor to Daimler taking full control of the company and injecting funds needed to steer it back in the right direction.
It all fits if you think about it.
As far as Nissan is concerned, only time will tell if its decision to pass on buying shares in Aston Martin bites them in the rear.
Nissan Exec's Move to Aston Martin Could Spark Sale to Daimler originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 5 September 2014 08:00 EST.
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