McLaren Automotive usually provide supercars to the super rich. Today they have unveiled plans to broaden their customer base with a new range of cars targeting the ‘rich’. So not good news to Mr Average but still great news for the British car industry. Undoubtedly the improvements found by the research will eventually find their way into mainstream car manufacture and production.
McLaren Automotive produce around 1,600 cars per year. The new plan, called Track 22, aims to introduce 15 new models or derivatives of existing models and increase the annual manufacture to 5,000 cars. Drawing on the technology used by the Formula 1 racing team McLaren Automotive has already started to produce cars to compete with Ferrari and Porsche. The 570GT was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show and has been priced at around £150,000.
Mike Flewitt, McLaren Automotive’s chief executive believes they will continue to build the world’s finest two-seater sports and supercars. He says the 570GT has been designed to give a more relaxed drive and has more comfortable suspension, together with a larger luggage capacity. “We see the car as being very easy to drive on a day-to-day basis” he said.
The recruitment drive has already begun. An additional 500 staff will be taken on to work at the company’s factory in Woking, Surrey. Many of the jobs will be for skilled engineering roles. McLaren is an attractive brand which will certainly help with recruitment in a very competitive market. The brand is sold into 30 markets with 82 dealerships. This may seem like a bold step for McLaren, but in this specialist market they are almost certainly doing the right thing.
