Aston Martin Will Build Crossover in U.K.

Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. has decided to produce its first crossover, the DBX, in the U.K.

The sporty crossover will be built in a new £200 million ($279 million) factory to be erected at a former airfield in St. Athan, South Wales. The company says production will begin in 2020 with a target output of 5,000 cars per year.

The Welsh plant eventually could match the 8,000-unit capacity of Aston Martin’s only other assembly plant: the facility at company headquarters in Gaydon.

Aston Martin selected the Wales site after considering more than 20 possible locations in Alabama, Canada, Mexico, the Middle East, eastern Europe and elsewhere in the U.K. CEO Andy Palmer says the choice was heavily influenced by the “focus on quality, cost and speed from the Welsh government team.”

The 103-year-old company last reported a profit in 2010. Palmer has described the DBX as essential in achieving Aston Martin’s goal of more than tripling its annual deliveries to 15,000 units by about 2020.