McLaren Automotive global sales surge 43.9 per cent

McLaren Automotive, the British creator of luxury sportscars and supercars, said its global sales rose to 4,806 cars in 2018 with sales up 43.9 per cent over the previous year. 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. European sales rose 44.2pc but the biggest leap was seen in China at 122.5pc growth following the introduction of the 570S Spider and 720S. China now accounts for almost 7pc of total global sales.

McLaren’s UK domestic market remained strong, achieving a 49.2pc 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. Growth was supported by a rise in the number of retailers. 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 which seen the MSO order book triple in one year. “We believe we’re well-placed in 2019 with a global market spread and diverse product portfolio. Our optimism is buoyed by the fact that we already have strong order banks into this year and exciting product lined up alongside the prospect of seeing our new in-house developed 720S GT3 race car hit the track with customer teams for the first time as we seek to strengthen the links between our founder’s racing history and our production cars,” said Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive.

“We also now have greater control over our core component – the carbon fibre chassis at the heart of all our cars that gives them – and our customers - a unique performance edge. Our new MCTC facility rampsup to full production later this year as we move under Track25 to full hybrid for our sportscars and supercars by 2025,” added Flewitt.