McLaren Automotive, the British creator of luxury sportscars and supercars, has recorded another record year of growth, selling a total of 3,340 cars in 2017 worldwide.
In Australia, VFACTS’ 2017 annual data indicated McLaren sales increased by 24.7% YOY, following a strong response to the local launch of the 720S Super Series mid-year and continued interest in the Sports Series range. McLaren recently launched the 570S Spider in Australia, which is already driving great interest into 2018.
“We are proud of our continually strong sales figures year-on-year, reflecting the increasing demand for our brand locally. In particular, we are seeing growing demand for our bespoke engineering service – known as MSO — among Australian customers, across both Super Series and Sports Series” said George Biggs Managing Director – Asia Pacific.
“We received a phenomenal response following the release of the 720S in Australia and our Sports Series range, which offers Australians the excitement of McLaren ownership with the launch of the 570S Spider”, said Mr Biggs.
Around two-thirds of sales worldwide are attributed to the Sports Series family, the vast majority of which are new buyers to the brand, including many women.
Following the unveiling of the 720S in March, Super Series sales continued to perform strongly with 1,221 cars sold worldwide – nearly the same as 2016’s figure despite only six months of delivery.
“We are excited to watch the brand continue to grow in 2018 with a number of important announcements set to demonstrate McLaren Automotive’s commitment to being at the forefront of automotive industry, including the highly anticipated public unveiling of McLaren Senna at the Geneva Motor Show”, said Mr Biggs.
This continued growth of McLaren Automotive has resulted in a second production facility being opened in Yorkshire, England. The facility will enable McLaren to in-source future production of carbon fibre Monocell and Monocage chassis, which are currently constructed in Austria and shipped to Woking for the building of the cars.
In 2018, the McLaren Sports Series models will benefit from greater choice of specification and an upgraded range of options as McLaren introduces new features and enhances its Coupé and GT models to align with the 570S Spider launched last year.
The 570GT enjoys the most changes, with carbon-ceramic brake discs now standard-fit and a Sport Pack also introduced, allowing buyers to specify a 570GT with the same dynamic settings as the 570S Coupé and Spider.
“The McLaren Sports Series is already recognised for bringing the excitement and race-derived technology of a supercar to the luxury sports car market, a reputation that was further enhanced by the recent introduction of the 570S Spider,” said Jolyon Nash, McLaren Automotive Executive Director, Global Sales and Marketing.
“The changes for 2018 make every model in the range even more compelling; customers attracted by the McLaren blend of lightweight, carbon fibre construction and mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged V8 engine combining to deliver thrilling performance, can now choose from an even wider range of colours, materials and features,” said Mr Nash.
“Additionally, with the new 570GT Sport Pack, we have reacted to market requests for a 570GT with the driving dynamics of the 570S Coupé. This optional handling package gives the same chassis setup as the Coupé, while retaining the luxurious features, luggage space and looks of the 570GT,” said Mr Nash.
It’s certainly exciting times for McLaren Automotive and provides a bright spot for the company considering the lackluster performance of the Formula 1 team over the past few seasons. I for one am looking forward to sampling some of their cars in 2018!
More information about the McLaren range in Australia can be found here.