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By Bloomberg

Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd., the maker of the $184,000 DB9 sports car, will unveil a plan to refresh its model lineup at the Geneva motor show in March, and its main financial backer has pledged the resources to carry it out.

Investindustrial SpA, which bought a 37.5 percent stake in the British manufacturer in 2012, will invest fresh cash in Aston Martin if needed, Andrea Bonomi, the private-equity firm’s chairman, said in an interview today. Investindustrial has no plans to sell its holding anytime soon as the investment was made with the intention of keeping it for seven to 10 years.

“Aston has an industrial plan which is growing in its ambitions and we have always planned to participate in all funding needs that Aston has,” said Bonomi on the sidelines of a conference in Milan. “It hasn’t been decided yet, but if Aston needs capital, we’re there.”

Bonomi helped recruit Andy Palmer, the former chief planning officer at Nissan Motor Co., to take over as CEO after Aston Martin went a year without a top executive. The Gaydon, England-based manufacturer is the only global luxury-auto brand that’s not part of a larger group. That makes it tricky for Aston Martin to fund the research and development needed to compete with Volkswagen AG’s Bentley and Fiat Chrysler’s Maserati.

Aside from the Italian private-equity firm, Aston Martin’s other main shareholders are Kuwaiti companies Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz has an agreement to acquire a 5 percent stake in Aston Martin in exchange for providing the sports-car producer with components such as engines and automotive electronics.

In Geneva, Palmer “will give a clear indication of where the brand is going,” including the prospects of building a Aston Martin’s first sport-utility vehicle, Bonomi said. “We’re at the beginning of the revamp plan.”