McLaren’s Record Global Sales Spurred by New U.S. Dealership Openings
Worldwide sales of 4,806 cars in 2018 is up by nearly 45% compared to 2017.
Global sales for McLaren Automotive rose to 4,806 cars in 2018 with sales up 43.9% over the previous year. This is another record for the company, which has increased sales every year since its formation in 2010.Â
North America, which represents McLaren’s biggest single market and over a third of global sales, surpassed the 5,000 cars sold mark since sales started in 2011 and achieved another year of record growth.
European sales rose 44.2% but the biggest leap was seen in China at 122.5% growth following the introduction of the 570S Spider and 720S. China now accounts for almost 7% of total global sales.
McLaren’s U.K. domestic market remained strong, achieving a 49.2% year-on-year growth.
The company celebrated building its 15,000th car in the summer at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, where all its cars are hand-assembled, and consistently achieved over 20 cars a day with production exported to over 30 markets.
The MPC also built its most varied mix of products yet including examples from each of the company’s now firmly established Sports, Super and Ultimate Series offerings. As well as the 600LT and McLaren Senna, the company also launched the first two of 18 new products under its billion-dollar Track25 business plan, the fully deposited Speedtail and, most recently, 720S Spider.
Growth was supported by a rise in the number of retailers with openings in Bellevue, Washington, and Troy, Michigan, a second site added in Tokyo plus new sites in Sao Paulo, Guangzhou in China and Leeds and Hatfield in the U.K., signalling a strong domestic market. The brand is now retailed in 32 markets with the additions of Riga in Latvia and Warsaw in Poland.
McLaren’s in-house bespoke division, McLaren Special Operations (MSO), which undertakes special vehicle commission and customisation, also had a busy year. More customers are now choosing to add unique, additional luxury touches to their acquisitions which has seen the MSO order book triple in one year.
Last November welcomed the opening of the company’s second-ever facility, the McLaren Composites Technology Center. It will help the company to produce lightweight carbon fiber “tubs” that will enable it to deliver the lightest in-class products and win what CEO Mike Flewitt has described as the new “lightweight race” in place of the traditional “power race,” essential as the company moves towards 100% hybrid sportscars and supercars by 2024.
“Record sales highlight what a momentous year 2018 was for McLaren Automotive when over 4,800 cars left our Production Center,” said Flewitt. “That compares to 1,650 in 2015 showing the remarkable expansion in just three years as we work to consolidate growth to 6,000 cars a year by the end of our Track25 business plan. In 2018, we achieved our broadest product offering, launching differentiated, world-beating products such as 600LT and the first two cars under our Track25 business plan in the sublime forms of the Speedtail and 720S Spider both of which have been enthusiastically welcomed by the market.”