Perhaps with the help of their Singaporean shareholder Peter Lim growth was recorded across all four of the McLaren regional business units. A rise in sales across Asia, triggered by an expanding network of their outlets, was part credited with the increase in revenues from £285.4m to £475.5m.
The Asia-Pacific region saw the biggest rise with sales increasing by 80 percent over 2013 with 11 new retail locations across the region helping to fuel this growth. The North American market remained the largest market for McLaren accounting for more than 30 percent of overall sales, while sales in both Europe and the Middle East grew year-on-year by 10 percent and nine percent respectively.
The network of McLaren retailers grew to cover 30 markets with the additions of Chile, Scotland and Thailand. New sales outlets were also opened in existing markets bringing the total number of outlets to 71. More development is planned in 2015. In Singapore the McLaren recently changed the dealership.
However with conspicuous consumption under the microscope in China sales there slowed.
McLaren Chief Executive Officer Mike Flewitt said, “In China we had a very strong launch at the end of 2013 and 2014 was going incredibly well. Come November/December we saw the market slow down quite dramatically,”
Flewitt alo commented that the typical buyer of one of their cars in western Europe is a 45-year-old male who had been successful in business, but in China, buyers tended to be aged in their 20s.
The core McLaren range, the Super Series, continues to find new audiences. The track focused 675LT was launched in March at the International Geneva Motor Show. Limited to just 500 units globally, these all found buyers in just a couple of months. Production commences in July alongside the 650S Coupé and 650S Spider which is currently the only open roofed, mid-engined sports car available globally that is capable of more than 200mph.
