McLaren Automotive, the carmaking business of the McLaren Group, will break even this year ahead of its expansion into Asia and higher-volume segments. “We’re bang on track to break even this year,” said the company CEO Mike Flewitt in an interview with the Financial Times.
The UK-based sports car manufacturer has seen its sales quadruple last year and is betting on demand from China to reach annual sales of 4,000 units by 2015, when McLaren will launch the entry-level P13 sports car, a rival for the Porsche 911. Further growth will be provided by new models, as the company aims to launch two new models each year from 2016 onwards.
“I expect about 1,500 sales this year and next year, and then after we get P13, around 4,000 cars,” said McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt. He added that the P13 will cost two-thirds the price of the 12C, roughly £110,000 (€131,570).
When asked if McLaren has any plans for an SUV, like Bentley and Jaguar, Flewitt replied it’s not the right time to consider that. “McLaren needs the global audience to understand our brand, so we need to be consistent in what we build,” he added.
McLaren entered China this month with three dealerships and expects the market to make up 10 percent of its total sales next year, or about 150 vehicles. The executive says global luxury car sales are shifting towards Asia and sees no growth in Europe at least until 2019.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with more than a third of sales in Asia”, Flewitt said. He added that he expects medium-term sales percentages to be 40, 20, 40 in North America, Europe and Asia, respectively.
By Dan Mihalascu
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