McLaren takes race tech to the street

McLaren presented its P1, 650S Coupe and 650S Spider high-performance sports cars to Chinese consumers at the Beijing Auto Show in April. The company expected its 2014 China sales to account for 10 percent of global total. CHINA DAILY

Renowned for F1, now in super sports car market

A leader in racing for more than half a century, British high-performance sports car maker McLaren Automotive now hopes to reinvent its image in China.

At the recent Beijing Auto Show, CEO Mike Flewitt noted "it's McLaren's first time to bring our super sports cars to China at a local A-level international auto show".

"We hope our cars get closer to Chinese customers and our brand becomes known for super sports cars rather than motor racing."

Since it was founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren, the name has been famous around the world for its eight Formula One constructor championships and 12 drivers' titles, a quarter of the total. It also holds many Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours titles.

The name also shines with a long list of legendary F1 racers from Alain Prost and Niki Lauda to Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

"Now we are making efforts to let Chinese consumers know that McLaren is also producing super sports cars for street driving," said Flewitt.

Though it just officially arrived in China with a wholly owned operation in Shanghai last September, Flewitt has high expectations for the carmaker.

"We came when we were ready, not late, at the right time with the right people, right products and right dealers," Flewitt told China Daily.

"We hope to sell about 150 cars to Chinese owners this year, about 10 percent of our total global sales," he said. "I am quite confident about the China market."

In 2013, McLaren delivered about 1,400 super sports cars worldwide. Its goal is to sell 1,600 vehicles this year and 4,000 by 2017.

It has now distribution centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

"We also established a training center in Beijing to help maintain high customer satisfaction," said Flewitt.

He also said the company will also organize a track day with its MP4-12C model in June in Zhuhai, Guangdong province to present McLaren's driving performance to more potential customers.

It will host a similar event at the end of the year with both the MP4-12C and the newly launched 650S Coupe and Spider.

"The debuts of 650S Coupe and Spider at the Beijing Auto Show, just one month after the revolutionary models' premieres in Geneva, shows McLaren's strong commitment to China," said Flewitt.

"China is not only the largest and fastest growing automotive market, but also the core focus of our brand's global development strategy."

Super sports cars now have only about 0.1 percent of the passenger car market in China, while the figure is 1 to 2 percent in Western countries.

Though some super sports cars saw their Chinese sales dip in 2013 after a two-year boom, partly attributed to the central government's ban on conspicuous consumption, industry experts said there is still huge potential and there will be a healthy and sustainable increase.

They said the segment is expected to double in size in 10 years.

The 2013 Forbes China Rich List said the wealthy in China are getting richer, as the number of billionaires - those with a personal fortune of more than $1 billion - hit a record high of 168 last year, up from 113 in 2012 and only one in 2003.

The combined wealth of the top 400, with a threshold of 600 million yuan ($96 million) to enter the list, totaled 3.4 trillion yuan, a 35 percent surge over 2012.

Chinese consumer enthusiasm for limited edition vehicles also helps support sustainable growth in ultra-luxury vehicle sales. The McLaren P1, which uses hybrid power and F1 technology, proves a market is there, said the company.

The 38 allotted for China of 375 units worldwide all sold immediately when the company announced availability last year.