Episode Details

Accelerating Plans

McLaren Automotive has just announced plans for its future plans. The British marque will invest £500 million GBP, or the equivalent of $669,090,000 at the time of writing, to expand its UK manufacturing, engineering, and operations.

Next-generation models will come sooner, as the investment will spur the brand forward. In addition to new models and innovations, McLaren also plans to employ more people, add new segments to its portfolio, and build its own engines in-house.

The investment is part of a larger commitment from McLaren Automotive’s shareholder, L’IMAD, a sovereign investor of the Abu Dhabi Government. The brand is staying straight in its home country of Britain, the same birthplace of the legendary McLaren F1.

Production Expansion and a New Performance SUV

With a lot of money flowing in, McLaren finds itself in a position of opportunity. What it does with those resources remains to be seen, but the brand has already mapped out its future plans. Expanding production capabilities is one of the plan’s highlights. McLaren Automotive is looking to increase vehicle production and ensure it all happens in Britain.

The company will also dip its toes into a new segment, making its design, technology, and engineering chops available for discerning SUV customers. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this further confirms that McLaren is going to build a performance SUV in the U.K. Connecting the dots, it looks like we can finally expect a hybrid, performance-oriented SUV from the brand.

Nick Collins, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Group Holdings and McLaren Automotive, said: “This investment gives us the platform to grow, develop and build on what makes us distinctive, while investing in the people, technologies and products that will keep us competitive for decades to come.”

In-House

Beyond its production and product expansion plans, McLaren is also working to bring powertrain development in-house. Once fully realized, the endeavor will mark the first time in the brand’s history that McLaren will create its engines and hybrid systems for McLaren vehicles. The in-house plans also extend to transmissions, and the brand aims to take its hybrid engine strategy to the next level, which began with the McLaren P1.

McLaren has not directly confirmed it will go in-house for its new SUV’s powertrain. It may be too early to tell, though.

The investment will also expand the McLaren Production Center’s operations and its carbon fiber manufacturing and research facility in South Yorkshire at the McLaren Composites Technology Center.

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