Aston Martin sues Swiss car dealer over orders for its Valkyrie ‘hypercar’

Carmaker alleges more than £10m in customer money for the model went missing

The new Aston Martin Valkyrie at the Geneva International Motor Show in Switzerland. Reuters 

Aston Martin is suing a Swiss car dealer over orders for its Valkyrie sports car, claiming customers' money was not handed over.

The British carmaker said on Tuesday it was taking legal action against Nebula Project AG and its board members, alleging that more than £10 million ($13.9m) in customer deposits for the £2.5m “hypercar” was withheld.

Aston Martin claims the Valkyrie will be the fastest and most expensive road car ever made.

Nebula helped Aston Martin finance the car by offering to underwrite its development and handling some Swiss customer receipts.

In return, Nebula would collect a commission from the sales of the Valkyrie model, as well as two other models based on the same technology, the Valhalla and the Vanquish.

The unusual funding model was put in place when Aston Martin was struggling financially.

The luxury carmaker alleges that Nebula directors collected further payments from some customers on top of deposits for the car, and that the additional charges were never paid to Aston Martin.

A number of the carmaker’s customers have joined the legal case.

The London-listed company said on Tuesday it had terminated its contract with the Swiss dealer and would make sure that in future all deposits for special vehicles are received directly by Aston Martin and not through a third party.

"Both Aston Martin and its customers have been impacted by Nebula Project AG's and its board members' behaviour," the carmaker said.

Aston Martin also estimated a hit of up to £15 million to its 2021 results from the project.

Deliveries of the car are expected to begin in September and run into next year.