Aston Martin chief leaves amid 94% share collapse

Struggling luxury UK carmaker Aston Martin has announced that chief executive Andy Palmer has stepped down.

Tobias Moers is taking over from 1 August, with Keith Stanton filling the gap as interim chief operating officer.

Mr Moers joins from Mercedes' high-performance subsidiary AMG, where he is currently chief executive, BBC News reports.

Aston Martin was struggling before the coronavirus crisis hit sales and its share price is down 94% since the company's flotation in 2018.

"The board has determined that now is the time for new leadership to deliver our plans," Aston Martin said in a statement.

Mr Palmer said it had been "a privilege" to serve Aston Martin for almost six years.

He thanked management and staff for "their hard work and support, particularly during the challenges presented by Covid-19".

In other management changes, the firm said three of its directors - Richard Solomons, Imelda Walsh and Tensie Whelan - had departed on Saturday. They had already indicated that they would not seek re-election in June.

The news was well received by the markets, with Aston Martin's share price surging more than 40% in Tuesday morning trading.

Neil Wilson of Markets.com described the share price rise as "a pretty damning indictment" of Mr Palmer's tenure.