Aston Martin Lagonda has announced that a £200 million investment would be used to ensure the Aston Martin DBX SUV enters production and is available for sale by 2019.
In addition to the DBX SUV, Aston Martin also plans to introduce several new model lines during the same period. The funding injection comes in the form of £200 million of preference shares.
“This additional long-term funding will enable us to add extra model lines and broaden our presence in the luxury market segment by the end of the decade," said Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Andy Palmer.
"The DBX concept, has generated interest far beyond our expectations. The additional investment announced today will allow us to realise the DBX and other new luxury vehicles that will form the strongest and most diverse portfolio in our history."
“Our shareholders have shown their strong commitment and confidence in the management team to execute the strategic plan,” he said.
The new luxury vehicles mentioned by Palmer are expected to in fact be two new platforms — one dedicated to Aston Martin's sports cars, while the other will focus on its 'less' sporty cars such as the DBX SUV.
A long-wheel base luxury sedan similar to the Lagonda Taraf is expected to be part of the funding spend. The vehicle is likely to be engineered and skewed toward the Chinese market, which is an important segment for the British manufacturer.
The remainder of the funding is expected to be used for implementation of the technical partnership with Daimler. Daimler's partnership includes a five per cent stake in Aston Martin, along with use of the new Mercedes-AMG V8 engine in a uniquely engineered form.
Aston Martin also used today's announcement to release its financial figures for the 2014 financial year. Despite turning over £468 million, the company only managed pre-tax profits of £66 million, which was a step up from the £33 million loss from the previous financial year. Last year Aston Martin sold around 4000 vehicles globally (107 of those were sold in Australia). This figure is down on the company's best year of sales in 2007, where it moved around 7300 vehicles globally.