MCLAREN WILL INVEST $675 MILLION TO EXPAND UK MANUFACTURING AND LAUNCH SUV MODEL
British supercar maker McLaren said on Tuesday it would invest £500 million ($675 million) in its UK manufacturing and engineering operations and add new models, including its first-ever SUV, to lift sales and pursue far higher profit margins to rival the likes of Ferrari.
McLaren's investments will include a new UK assembly plant, and it will develop and build its own transmissions and engines, which it said would create 1,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2032. "McLaren Automotive is doubling down on Britain," UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in a statement. The firm's expansion plan comes as automakers across the industry are restructuring. Nissan is ditching plants and some future models. Jaguar Land Rover is cutting staff while Volkswagen's supervisory board has just approved a turnaround plan that includes sweeping job cuts. McLaren CEO Nick Collins told Reuters the company's investment plan comes after restructuring last year following its acquisition by Abu Dhabi's CYVN Holdings, which also bought a non-controlling stake in McLaren's Formula One business. The automaker's main shareholder now is Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund L'IMAD.
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