China's Geely Buys 7.6% Stake In Aston Martin

Sep. 30, 2022 6:12 AM ET by Karl Furlong Industry News / 6 Comments

It follows a recent Saudi investment that will help the British automaker manage its debt.

Slip behind the wheel of a new Aston Martin DBX707 while extending its 697-horsepower V8, and you tend to forget that this is a company with ongoing financial woes. But it is also resilient, having survived bankruptcy seven times previously, and a spate of recent cash injections are helping the British automaker stay afloat and manage its debt.

In July, the Saudi Public Investment Fund invested in Aston to the sum of $744 million, and now another high-profile shareholder has joined the party. That is China's Geely, the eastern country's largest privately-owned automotive technology group. Geely, which already owns several other automakers, has acquired a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin.

Geely's latest move comes after Aston Martin shareholders rejected a deal led by Atlas Consortium, a firm that includes Geely itself. That offer was worth over $1.5 billion, but it appears the latest Geely deal was more in line with the British automaker's expectations. Geely now joins a list of other prominent shareholders in Aston Martin that includes Mercedes-Benz.

"We are delighted to announce our investment in Aston Martin and believe that with our well-established track record and technology offerings, Geely Holding can contribute to Aston Martin's future success," said Daniel Donghui Li, Geely Holding Group CEO.

"We look forward to exploring potential opportunities to engage and collaborate with Aston Martin as it continues to execute its strategy to achieve long term, sustainable growth and increased profitability."

Although former Aston Martin boss Tobias Moers has moved on, he left the British automaker in a more stable position and helped to increase the brand's sales by 115% in 2021. A lot of that success can be attributed to the DBX SUV; like Porsche with the Cayenne and Bentley with the Bentayga, these SUVs have been instrumental in helping these luxury brands become more profitable.

The upcoming Valhalla - which has sadly been delayed yet again - and track-focused Valkyrie won't dramatically increase sales volumes, but these halo cars are important image-builders for the brand. Now, with Geely's help, Aston Martin can continue on its upward trajectory.

2024 Aston Martin Valhalla Front Angle View

Although Geely didn't specify the value of the transaction, Bloomberg reports that Aston has completed a round of funding worth $732 million. Besides the beneficial cash injection, the Geely connection means that Aston could potentially benefit from Geely's Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) at some point in the future when it transitions to electric models.

The SEA platform is open-source which means that Geely is open to supplying it to other automakers, and it will already underpin high-performance EVs like the Lotus Eletre and Polestar 5.

Although Aston's electrification plans are still very much behind the rest of the industry, this is a promising development for the brand.