The ex-Lotus engineer responsible for the ride and handling of Aston Martin’s latest cars is making a move to Woking.
Matt Becker has been poached by McLaren after six years at Aston Martin, according to Autocar and PistonHeads.
Mr Becker is well known for his time at Lotus prior to joining Aston. He’s part of a broader executive exodus from Aston Martin, which is undergoing significant changes as Tobias Moers gets his feet under the desk.
Design director Miles Nurnberger has left Gaydon for a role at Lada and Dacia, while Autocar reports David King, head of special vehicle operations at Aston, is also on his way out the door.
Mr Moers took charge of Aston Martin in August 2020, replacing Andy Palmer in the role on the back of a cash injection from a consortium led by Formula 1 power player Lawrence Stroll.
Stroll and his investment partners took an 18 per cent stake with an investment in February 2020, before upping their investment to $525 million as COVID-19 began to take its toll on the brand.
The Canadian clothing mogul (and prominent racing tiger parent) isn’t the only member of the Formula 1 paddock to pour money into Aston Martin.
Mercedes-AMG F1 boss Toto Wolff last year reportedly locked in a $15.7 million investment in Aston Martin, equating to a stake of around one per cent.
Under its new management, Aston Martin is planning to expand its range and transfer rapidly to electric power.
Moers predicts half of Aston Martin’s portfolio will be fully electric by 2030, though he said the company will offer plug-in hybrids in select markets and will offer internal combustion engines for as long as possible.
“It is part of our journey, and it’s part of our business plan forward and our product plan for the future,” Mr Moers said in an investor conference.
“We are not able to change the future, we have to adjust us to that future.”
Aston Martin’s first electric vehicle will be a sports car, though it won’t arrive until 2026.
