McLaren sticks to racing roots, plans expansion

While rivals from Lamborghini to Ferrari have either rolled out or are working on SUVs, British sports car manufacturer McLaren Automotive said it does not have plans to produce such vehicles sought-after in China and the United States.

"No, we don't. As you know, we are a young brand and we're very focused on building great drivers' cars. And I think it would be a mistake to dilute our engineering," said CEO Mike Flewitt.

He made the remarks during the Shanghai auto show that concluded last week, where its latest models, the 720S Spider and the 600LT Spider, made their Chinese debuts.

It was at the same expo, back in 2013, that McLaren made its debut in China. Its first dealership opened that year and the first model was sold in early 2014.

Since then it has delivered 1,000 cars and built a sales network of 12 dealerships across the country. Flewitt said he is "very, very pleased" with the brand's development in China.

"China is an important market to McLaren. It was the third-largest in 2018," he said.

Its China sales totaled more than 300 last year, up 122 percent year-on-year and accounting for 7 percent of its global deliveries.

That ranked the country after the United Kingdom, where some 400 cars were delivered in 2018. The leader is the US, whose sales account for around 35 percent of McLaren's global total.

Flewitt said he expects China's share would come up to 10 percent of its global sales, reaching 400 to 500 a year, although he did not give a schedule for the goal.

"As a supercar market, it's still developing. We need to come here, invest, build relationships with dealers, build relationships with customers and help them to understand more about McLaren," he said.

He said the brand is putting a lot of effort into digital and social media communication. It's an approach that works well in China as its customers are much younger, tech-savvy and love trying new things.

"They look across the world for products, for the latest technologies, the latest brand. They like the fact that we're introducing new exciting models and there's always something new," he said.

The 720S Spider and the 600LT Spider are now taking orders in China, both of which are part of McLaren's business plan called Track 25. As it pushes forward with the plan, which includes rolling out 18 all-new or derivative models by 2025, Chinese customers are to have more choices from the carmaker.

"I want people to think about McLaren two things: one is the best driver's car in the world and the second is the best relationships with our customers," said Flewitt.

The carmaker is also heading towards electrified powertrains, which are gaining momentum in the industry. Many of its models are expected to feature hybrid technology by 2025 and McLaren will eventually move into electric vehicles.

"You can take longer for electric vehicles to be relevant to the supercar. But it'll happen, maybe the first one around 2025," said Flewitt.