Yahoo Autos McLaren CEO: We Could Build a 2+2 Grand Tourer Instead of an SUV
For more than a decade now, McLaren has been whipping up some of the quickest, most exotic new road cars on the planet — but so far, building just two-seat mid-engined sports cars hasn't brought in profits by the bushel. With high development costs and a limited customer group to sell to, the English automaker is looking for a way to increase profitability‚ and CEO Michael Leiters says that an SUV could be the ticket — or, potentially, a more traditional grand tourer.
Speaking with Automotive News at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Leiters explained that sharing production costs with a partner in addition to building more lifestyle-focused models will be key to getting the company back on track. Leiters was hired in 2022 to rebuild McLaren's finances after the supercar manufacturer's fates took a tumble during the Covid-19 pandemic; even so, McLaren lost $1.1 billion in 2023, signaling that launching new models like the Artura plug-in hybrid and the 750S wasn't enough.
"We must be on our way to profitability," Leiters said to Automotive News. "We have two plans for that. One is a stand-alone plan to stay independent without any technology partner and focus on supercars as our core element. This is a profitable plan. But to unlock the full potential, we think we should extend our product lineup to something more lifestyle-oriented."
This lifestyle-oriented model could be an SUV or even a two-plus-two — in other words, a grand tourer — Leiters explained, and the ideal way to make this big transition happen is by collaborating with a partner that has existing platforms. And Leiters says he doesn't want just any partner, either: in a perfect world, it would be a long-term, two-way partnership with a mutual interest in sharing technologies, such as McLaren's focus on aerodynamics and carbon fiber.
"First, I want to extend the lineup. So, if they had a platform or technologies that allows us to go into a more lifestyle-oriented, shared-performance segment, we would be very, very happy," Leiters said to Automotive News. While the thought of a McLaren SUV may frighten some puristsm but Leiters says that any future models won't shy away from the brand's performance ethos.
"I would be happy to use an infotainment system platform from somebody else and do my bespoke HMI. But I want to do my own vehicle dynamics, my own lightweighting, my own aerodynamics."
Leiters attributes McLaren's profit struggles, in part, to overly ambitious production volumes. The CEO says the brand's current average selling price of around $304,o00 needs to go up, while the average number of units produced should shrink a bit. The former Ferrari executive also says increasing the quality of products is the best way to boost the average selling price; Leiters also admits that Artura and 750S sales are important to the brand's bottom line, but Ultimate Series models like the $3.5 million Solus GT and the legendary P1 make a ton of profit for the brand
Leiters says he doesn't regret selling the lower-priced Artura, even if it is responsible for dragging down the average selling price.
Perhaps the biggest financial change for McLaren recently has been the complete takeover of the company by the Bahraini sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, which took control of McLaren back in March and has been hyper-focused on profitability ever since – as well as earnestly competing with Ferrari and Lamborghini. While the takeover of McLaren by Mumtalakat clarifies who is financially responsible, Leiters said that the mechanical business of running a car company remains in the hands of its engineers and potential automotive partners. All told, this renewed focus on profitability will likely be good for McLaren owners, too.
"A McLaren is an emotional purchase. You don't need it," Leiters said to Automotive News. "You are wealthy, but you are not stupid. So, residual values are very important. We will not oversupply anymore."
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