In 2018, McLaren sales increased by 44% to 4,806 cars delivered worldwide. The USA was the largest market for Mclaren cars.
In full year 2018, global sales for McLaren Automotive, the British creator of luxury sportscars and supercars, rose to 4,806 cars in 2018 with sales up 43.9% compared to 3340 cars sold in 2017. This is another record for McLaren, which has increased sales every year since its formation in 2010. As usual, McLaren is rather coy with the actual numbers sold per market.
Major Markets for McLaren in 2018
In 2018, North America remained McLaren’s biggest single market and accounted for over a third of global sales. McLaren sales in North America surpassed the 5,000 cars sold mark since sales started in 2011 with 2018 another year of record growth.
European sales rose 44.2 per cent but the biggest leap was seen in China at 122.5 per cent growth following the introduction of the 570S Spider and 720S. China now accounts for almost 7 per cent of total global sales, which by international standards are relatively low with huge growth potential.
McLaren’s UK domestic market remained strong, achieving a 49.2 per cent year-on-year growth. The SMMT recorded 626 McLaren car registrations in the UK in 2018, which made McLaren the 40th largest car brand in Britain.
McLaren Production in 2018
McLaren celebrated building its 15,000th car in the summer of 2018 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.
The MPC also built its most varied mix of products yet including examples from each of the company’s now firmly established Sports, Super and Ultimate Series offerings. As well as the 600LT and McLaren Senna, the company also launched the first two of 18 new products or derivates under its £1.2bn Track25 business plan, the fully deposited Speedtail and, most recently, 720S Spider.
Growth was supported by a rise in the number of retailers with openings in Bellevue, Washington and Troy, Michigan in North America, a second site added in Tokyo plus new sites in Sao Paulo, Guangzhou in China and Leeds and Hatfield in the UK, signalling a strong domestic market. The brand is now retailed in 32 markets with the additions of Riga in Latvia and Warsaw in Poland.
In November 2018, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Crown Prince of Bahrain opened the company’s second ever facility, the £50m McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region. It will help the company to innovate and produce lightweight carbon fibre ‘tubs’ that will enable it to deliver the lightest in class products and win what CEO Mike Flewitt has described as the new ‘lightweight race’ in place of the traditional ‘power race’, essential as the company moves towards 100 per cent hybrid sportscars and supercars by 2024, more sustainable solutions which tend to be heavier than traditional petrol based powertrains.
McLaren Special Operations (MSO)
McLaren’s in-house bespoke division, McLaren Special Operations (MSO), which undertakes special vehicle commission and customisation, also had a busy year. More customers are now choosing to add unique, additional luxury touches to their acquisitions which has seen the MSO order book triple in one year. Special orders are traditionally very profitable for luxury carmakers.
Record sales highlight what a momentous year 2018 was for McLaren Automotive when over 4,800 cars left our Production Centre. That compares to 1,650 in 2015 showing the remarkable expansion in just three years as we work to consolidate growth to 6,000 cars a year by the end of our Track25 business plan. In 2018, we achieved our broadest product offering, launching differentiated, world-beating products such as 600LT and the first two cars under our Track25 business plan in the sublime forms of the Speedtail and 720S Spider both of which have been enthusiastically welcomed by the market.
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.
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 ramps-up to full production later this year as we move under Track25 to full hybrid for our sportscars and supercars by 2025.”
Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive.
Worldwide Car Sales per Brand in 2018
- Top 25 Best-Selling Car Models Worldwide
- Top 25 Best-Selling Car Brands Worldwide
- Audi
- BMW (including Rolls-Royce & Mini) – BMW Electrified Cars
- Mercedes-Benz (including AMG & Smart)
- McLaren
- Porsche
- Volkswagen (VW brand)
- Volkswagen Group
- Volvo
About McLaren Automotive
McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars. Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England. Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.
The company has three defined product families: Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series which are retailed through over 80 retailers in 30 markets around the world.
2017 saw the company launch further models including the second-generation Super Series, the 570S Spider and the McLaren Senna. In 2018, the company launched the 600LT and the first two cars of Track25, the McLaren Speedtail, the next Ultimate Series and McLaren’s first ever Hyper-GT, and 720S Spider.
McLaren Group: The McLaren Group is a global leader in luxury automotive and technology and comprises three businesses: Automotive, Racing and Applied Technologies.
