McLaren calls for fast Brexit decision after record sales

McLaren’s CEO has called upon the UK goverment to act quickly over Brexit, as the firm announces record sales on its fifth anniversary.

The Woking car maker sold 1654 cars in 2015 and expects that number to double this year and triple by 2020.

CEO Mike Flewitt said McLaren’s success had not so far been impacted by the UK’s vote to leave the EU but urged the government to act fast as it decides on the next steps.

“We’ve noticed no effect from Brexit so far,” he said. “However, continued uncertainty is not good for any business and we urge the authorities to get on and make a decision.”

This is the third successive year that McLaren Automotive has posted an operational profit, which last year rose to £23.5 million (Rs 231 crore) from revenues of £450.6m (Rs 4,435 crore).

The firm expects that revenue to further rise by 50% over the next two years and double by the end of 2022.

Almost 30% of the company’s turnover has been invested in research and development, with £123.9 million (Rs 1,219 crore) spent in 2015.

Its employee numbers increased by 16% to 1492 by the end of 2015 and 1750 in the early months of 2016 in order to cope with the pace of development that resulted in the launch last year of five new cars.

McLaren has now established three tiers of cars – Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series, the last of which features the flagship P1.

The latest investment in McLaren Automotive has been made by McKal Ltd, the chairman of which owns two P1s. McKal has shepherded an equity transaction of £49 million, which represents a 6.3% investment.

The Sports Series of cars, into which the 570GT was launched in March, should take McLaren’s overall sales past 3000 in 2016. To cope with the extra volume, McLaren grew its global dealer network by 12 in 2015, taking the total to 80 dealers in 30 markets.

The company renewed its commitment to focus on two-seater sports and super cars as part of its Track22 business plan, which looks ahead to 2022. It pledges to invest 20 to 25% of turnover into R&D for future products and technology, which will represent a £1 billion investment over six years and lead to the launch of 15 all-new cars or derivatives.

At least half of those new cars will feature hybrid technology by 2022, and a fully electric powertrain is in the early prototype stages of development. McLaren says it will evaluate this for possible use in a future generation of an Ultimate Series car, like the P1.