[Joxster]

McLaren Sold Nearly as Many Cars as Lamborghini in 2016

Lamborghini is doing well. With continuous sales growth in the last six years, the 3457 cars sold last year represents more than 2.6 times the sales of 2010. As far as the recent sales figures go, 1041 Lamborghinis ended up in the brand's largest single market, the USA, followed by Japan, the UK, Germany, Canada, the Middle East and China.

The Huracán had a record run with 2353 units sold, up from 2242 in 2015, while Lamborghini also sold 101 more Aventadors than the year before. With a total of 1104 V12 supercars sent to their lucky buyers, Lamborghini managed to build its 6000th Aventador in December.

While the new Aventador S, the also recently launched Huracán Spyder and further Performante versions should keep Lambo busy in 2017, the real sales booster will only come two years from now, when the brand's first twin-turbo V8 hybrid powered SUV, the Urus, is set to go on sale.

On the other side of Europe, McLaren won't be building an SUV. In 2016, the brand nearly doubled its sales volume year-over-year, selling a total of 3286 cars compared to 1654 in 2015. That's a 99.3 percent improvement right there, but McLaren won't go much further. Unlike Ferrari's dream of selling more than 8000 cars per year, McLaren is targeting just 4000, keeping the club exclusive enough for their customers. They will soon be able to buy the 650S' successor, the 720S.

Overall, it's a win-win for both brands. McLaren's figure is perhaps more impressive only because the Automotive part of the company only started producing cars six years ago, and we haven't seen anybody catch up to 50 years of Italian heritage this quickly before. Then again, having built the fastest car in the world in 1992 might have helped McLaren's brand recognition.

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That's quite an achievement for Mclaren in 6 years!

Cheers

[GTO]

Man, that is quite an achievement. Not only does Lamborghini have decades of heritage, but it also enjoys the mega support of VW! Lamborghini is arguably the sexier brand too. McLaren is a teeny weeny player in comparison.

From what I've read on USA forums, McLaren dealerships offer the best sales & service experience among the exotic brands. That has got to contribute something to these numbers.

Thanks for sharing!

[Maky]

Fantastic! I hope in the future they don't go down the route of making SUVs or Sedans like Lamborghini & Ferrari thus eroding the brands exclusivity/Image.
The 'retired' Ron Dennis was criticised for focusing on the car division of McLaren during a period where their F1 team was suffering but I guess this makes up for it.

Thanks Ron!.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, that is quite an achievement. Not only does Lamborghini have decades of heritage, but it also enjoys the mega support of VW! Lamborghini is arguably the sexier brand too. McLaren is a teeny weeny player in comparison.

From what I've read on USA forums, McLaren dealerships offer the best sales & service experience among the exotic brands. That has got to contribute something to these numbers.

Thanks for sharing!

Reason why their F1 is suffering, maybe?

In the picture, though, the McL does look sensational, which is even more of an achievement with a Lamborghini parked in the same frame.
Earlier, one would not even notice if an SR71 was stripping in the background of a Lamborghini poster. Now, though.....

[KiloAlpha]

My take on this - it has a lot to do with the psychology of the buyer in this segment. The more "exotic" and rare, the better.
Lamborghini is well on its way to becoming a bread-and-butter supercar brand. Its association with VW also contributes to this feeling. McLaren, on the other hand, is an independent manufacturer. It is small. It is exotic, and perceived as a left-field choice in the segment. Hence the allure, and therefore the sales.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Maky

Fantastic! I hope in the future they don't go down the route of making SUVs or Sedans like Lamborghini & Ferrari thus eroding the brands exclusivity/Image.

McLaren has publicly stated that it'll never make SUVs.

That said, I personally agree with the direction that Porsche & others have taken with SUVs. Fact is, their Cayenne SUV lead to a better 911 . The fat profits from SUVs improve the overall health of the company and give the R&D more $$$ to invest in their cars.

[Maky]

Originally Posted by GTO

McLaren has publicly stated that it'll never make SUVs.

That said, I personally agree with the direction that Porsche & others have taken with SUVs. Fact is, their Cayenne SUV lead to a better 911 . The fat profits from SUVs improve the overall health of the company and give the R&D more $$$ to invest in their cars.

You will not get any debate from me on the financial aspect of making more 'volume' cars be It SUV, Sedan or anything else & how it benefits the manufacturer.

I feel very strongly about exotic brands being exotic. When you see a Ferrari or a Lamborghini branded vehicle on the road It still feels very very special, comparatively a Porsche 911 does not simply because of the many Cayennes running around with the same badge. This will worsen after the lower priced Macan becomes more common over time.
Truth be told, the only real exotic brands that are left are Koenigsegg and Pagani but I suppose that will change If/when they want to get bigger too.

[Joxster]

TEN THOUSAND CARS IN FIVE YEARS

‘

A significant milestone in the short history of the company.’ That’s how CEO Mike Flewitt described the moment when a Ceramic Grey 570S rolled off the line to become the 10,000th car produced at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking (MPC).

The landmark has been achieved just over five years since the new production facility was opened in July 2011 and the first car – a McLaren 12C – began its journey down the line.

‘The fact that it took us 42 months to build our 5000th car and just 22 months to build the next 5000 speaks volumes about the pace of development of the company,’ said Mike. ‘Much of that development is thanks to the introduction of the Sports Series family of cars and it’s therefore fitting that the 10,000th car is a McLaren 570S’.

The Sports Series – comprising the 540C, 570S and 570GT – has certainly been a game changer. Its launch in early 2016 led to the introduction of a second shift at the MPC, increasing the team to 750 people and doubling production capacity from 10 cars a day to 20. Since then around 2000 Sports Series models have been built.

At the same time sales growth has also been exponential – sales in 2016 are on target to almost double year-on-year, from 1654 in 2015 to more than 3000 cars, with 90% of these being exported.

The 10,000th car, in its distinctive colour selected from McLaren Special Operations ‘Defined’ palette, isn’t going to a customer, however. Instead it will take its place in history as part of McLaren’s Heritage Collection.

The 570S, along with its Sports Series siblings 540C and 570GT, has helped McLaren almost double its sales in 2016.

History makers: Members of the McLaren Automotive team gather to celebrate with the 10,000th car produced at the MPC.

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Cheers

[theMAG]

I wouldnt be surprised at all. With cars like the F1, P1 and now the Senna, very few companies can pull off singularly redefining the hypercar like McLaren has. Like the Vulcans say, may McLaren live long and prosper!

Lamborghini on the other hand, seems to have gotten into a safe-mode, building on brand recall and churning out cars (and now SUVs) that keep the accounts happy rather than making ground-breaking supercars like they did with the Countach.

[Joxster]

Originally Posted by theMAG

I wouldnt be surprised at all. With cars like the F1, P1 and now the Senna, very few companies can pull off singularly redefining the hypercar like McLaren has. Like the Vulcans say, may McLaren live long and prosper!

I fully agree! Amen!

Originally Posted by theMAG

Lamborghini on the other hand, seems to have gotten into a safe-mode, building on brand recall and churning out cars (and now SUVs) that keep the accounts happy rather than making ground-breaking supercars like they did with the Countach.

With VW running the show at Lamborghini, it's not at all surprising that they are not making ground-breaking supercars anymore. With that being said, Lamborghini as a brand has a lot of aspirational value, due to it's long history of supercars, so it's still surprising to see the kind of sales that McLaren is able to achieve, despite it being a relatively new company on the scene, and having presence in less markets. It definitely reaffirms that their products and service are amazing.
If they continue at the rate they're going right now, they will have the same kind of aspirational value as the others very soon.