Record year of sales for supercar maker McLaren

Operating profit the highest ever as deals rise in Middle East

Supercars have increasingly become a mainstay of Dubai's streets. Courtesy: McLaren Automotive

British sports car and supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive has announced another record-breaking year of vehicle sales, with deliveries soaring in the Middle East.

Profit before tax of £9.2 million (Dh43.8m) from an annual sales revenue of £649.8m in 2016 gave McLaren Automotive a fourth consecutive year of profitability in only six years, since start of sales in 2011.  This was an increase in profit before tax of 70 per cent compared to the £5.4m reported in 2015, the supercar maker said.

In the firm's newly combined Middle East, where Abu Dhabi and Dubai both have showrooms, Africa and Central and South America region sales grew by 69 per cent.

"The positive financial performance in 2016 was underpinned by a 44 per cent increase in sales revenues," said the McLaren Automotive chief executive Mike Flewitt. "Investment in R&D and future product during the period was £129.1m – 20 per cent of turnover."

Operating profit of £65.8m in 2016 was the company’s highest ever, standing at 10 per cent of turnover and representing a 180 per cent increase over 2015. The strong financial performance in 2016 was underpinned by record sales, with a total of 3,286 cars purchased; this was a 99 per cent increase over 2015 and exceeded the company’s own expectations by almost 10 per cent, with all geographic regions achieving sales growth.

In its first full year of production, the Sports Series family accounted for 2,031 deliveries, the majority of which came from the recently introduced McLaren 570GT and 570S models.  In total, 1,255 Super Series cars were sold in 2016.

In March 2017 the second-generation McLaren Super Series, the new McLaren 720S, was launched and some 1,500 orders have been taken to date.  A new convertible Sports Series model, the 570S Spider, was announced this month and makes its world debut this week in the UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Geographically, in 2016 North America continued to be McLaren Automotive’s single largest market with deliveries of 1,139 cars, a 106 per cent increase over 2015. Europe ended 2016 selling 996 cars in total, an increase of 153 per cent, while the rapidly developing market in China sold 228 cars in total.  The Asia Pacific region grew by 90 per cent.