Aston Martin could cooperate with Mercedes-Benz on everything from engines to whole vehicles, said Adham Charanoglu, business development manager for Investment Dar, which owns most of Aston Martin.
Investment Dar, along with other investors, purchased Aston from Ford last year.
While no specific details about plans or even talks between the companies were disclosed, Charanoglu’s candid commentary on the matter suggests some type of affiliation is on the table.
Despite his ambiguity on automotive projects, Charanoglu disclosed Aston Martin is talking with Mercedes, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci about co-branded merchandise. He said Aston wants to grow its $100 million merchandising business to $300 million by 2009, according to Automotive News.
He also noted the company would be increasing production slightly from 7,000 units a year to 8,000. The move won’t do much to decrease wait times, however.
“If you have the money, you have to wait. Otherwise you will not feel attached to your car,” Charanoglu said.
02/05, 6:57 PM
posted by:
CTS DRIVER
time for daimler to suck british blood now.
02/05, 7:03 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
mmmm…. Mercedes Benz and Aston Martin, sounds like a winning recipe to me.
02/05, 7:21 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
Not looking forward to it… I hate large corporations.
02/05, 7:24 PM
posted by:
mujician
What a crock……
02/05, 8:55 PM
posted by:
corvette
damn
02/05, 9:03 PM
posted by:
Veda
Well this is certainly an interesting turn of events…
02/05, 10:05 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Agreed, Veda. Zetsche must have run out of Mopar+ blood.
02/05, 11:01 PM
posted by:
Jazz
I thought Ford had already sucked them dry. Daimler getting sloppy seconds.
02/06, 10:28 AM
posted by:
CTS DRIVER
ford gave them an infusion jazz, it kept them alive, they didnt cover the wounds very well and infection set in but they lived.
02/06, 11:18 AM
posted by:
Z06ified
I see the new Kuwaiti owners are already whoring out Aston Martin. They’re going to cheapen and ruin the whole brand. I don’t think they get it.
02/06, 12:14 PM
posted by:
atourya
I think this is great.
And by the way, Chrysler’s blood was cold to begin with, before any blood sucking was done. You all seem to forget how horrible the product lineup was before Daimler bought in.
These are my two favorite automakers. I would love to see what comes out of their collaboration.
02/06, 12:48 PM
posted by:
CTS DRIVER
how so atourya, they were making profits back then.
02/06, 12:59 PM
posted by:
mbgg099
Wow, my 2 favorite brands, that’s great!
02/06, 1:36 PM
posted by:
F3INT))AP3X
“If you have the money, you have to wait. Otherwise you will not feel attached to your car,” Charanoglu said.
Bull****! Who does this piece of **** think he is just coming in from some firm and then telling us about waiting for cars, does he even have any background of the industry or is he just another suited POS who pretends he can sell anything? **** waiting, how much you’re attatched to your car depends on a lot of factors, and waiting is none of them!
02/06, 2:14 PM
posted by:
SwerveEarly
These fools are going to cash in on the merchandising of the good name.
Aston Martin branded sunglasses, vodka, boots, strollers, backpacks and clock radios are all on the way. Hell they’ll sell the name to a vibrator manufacturer for the right $ number.
02/16, 11:54 AM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Bond.
Klaus Bond.