Aston Martin Is Going Through A Major Crisis

Aston Martin has existed for 113 years and has gone bankrupt seven times. Just a few weeks ago, the company was forced to accept another emergency loan of 46 million euros from a consortium led by the company’s chairman (billionaire) Laurence Strohl. Now there is growing concern in Great Britain that control of the company will pass to China, writes The Telegraph.

Since going public, Aston Martin has lost 90 percent of its value, and the key question is how long Stroll will finance the loser.

– Stroll is a serious businessman. At some point, even he has to ask himself how deep he needs to dig to keep this alive – one of the company’s main suppliers told The Telegraph.

What worries British experts from the industry the most is the presence of the owner of Volvo Cars, Geely, on the ownership list. The Chinese giant, led by Li Shufu, already owns about 14 percent of the shares. Stroll previously accused Geely of trying to buy the company on the cheap. Geely is now seen as a logical buyer if Stroll gets tired of investing. In the UK, Geely’s purchase of Volvo Cars is seen as a success, while the Lotus takeover is a little less successful. Despite hundreds of millions of euros in investment, Lotus has been forced to make major layoffs in England, while production of new electric cars has been moved to Wuhan, China.

The horror scenario for the British is that Aston Martin becomes the new MG and moves entirely to China.

– China has the lowest production costs. Everyone is afraid to move production there. ‘We may not like it, but from a business perspective it’s a smart move,’ says the Aston Martin supplier.

For the British government, the issue is sensitive. Losing control of another crown jewel, including the research and development department, would be a severe blow to the country’s industrial base. James Bond driving a Chinese car seems unimaginable…

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