LONDON: Aston Martin (AML.L)is suing a Swiss car dealer that it says withheld customer payments for its US$3 million (RM12.4mil) Valkyrie sports car, the luxury carmaker said today.
The London-listed company has also ended its commercial agreement with the dealer, Nebula Project AG, saying it would now take customer deposits directly for special vehicles such as the Valkyrie rather than involve a third party.
Aston Martin is also ending agreements with AF Cars AG, which runs the British carmaker's St Gallen dealership in Switzerland and is led by Nebula board members, saying that some cars were sold in breach of dealership agreements.
Nebula and one of its board members, Andreas Baenziger, did not respond immediately to emailed requests for comment. Florian Kamelger, another board member, said in an email that Nebula would release a statement later today.
"Both Aston Martin and its customers have been impacted by Nebula Project AG and its board members' behaviour," Aston Martin said in a statement.
A source close to Aston Martin said the case will be filed in a Swiss court today, though neither the source nor the company disclosed the size of damages being sought.
Aston Martin's statement said it could face a £15 million (RM86mil) hit to its 2021 results because of the alleged withheld payments but added that it was on course to meet financial expectations for the year.
The Valkyrie is a limited-edition supercar that uses Formula One technology and sells for about US$3 million, though the company hasn't listed an official price. First deliveries are on track for the second half of this year, the company said.
Aston Martin said it would work to ensure affected customers receive their Valkyrie cars as scheduled despite the company not having received all of their money.
