McLaren Automotive has announced a £500 million (US$669 million) investment programme with the aim of expanding its manufacturing, engineering and operations in the UK. The facilities are being created to enable the company to accelerate the development of new vehicle models, including a performance SUV.
The investment forms part of a larger commitment from shareholder L’IMAD, a sovereign investor of the Government of Abu Dhabi.
“Over the past 20 months, L’IMAD has worked closely with McLaren Automotive’s management team, supporting the business in sharpening its strategic direction and positioning itself for long-term growth,” said Jassem Al Zaabi, managing director and group CEO of L’IMAD. “This investment reflects our confidence in its potential and our commitment to backing the business through its next chapter, building on the heritage, engineering excellence, and distinctive brand that has defined McLaren for more than six decades.”
Expanding McLaren Automotive in the UK
A new vehicle assembly facility planned in the UK will enable McLaren Automotive to expand its production capability, increasing vehicle output and creating capacity to produce a newly confirmed performance SUV.
The investment will also enable McLaren Automotive’s future powertrains to be designed and built in-house for the first time, starting with two new engines and transmissions. The company says this will also support its hybrid engine strategy.
McLaren Automotive will also expand operations at the McLaren Production Centre in Woking and its carbon-fibre manufacturing and research facility in South Yorkshire at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre.
These facilities will join the company’s two recently opened UK sites: a design and innovation centre at the McLaren Creation Centre in Bicester, and a testing and vehicle development facility in the Midlands. Together with its Woking headquarters and carbon-fibre facility in South Yorkshire, they form an integrated UK operation, from design through to advanced manufacturing.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT (the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), a trade association representing the automotive industry in the UK, stated, “McLaren’s £500 million investment and creation of 1,000 new jobs is a major boost to the UK and evidence of automotive’s ability to deliver skilled, high-value jobs, economic growth, and innovation.
“This commitment strengthens our position as a global leader in high-performance automotive design, engineering and advanced manufacturing, anchoring new products, skills and technologies in Britain. It further underlines the UK automotive sector’s strong fundamentals on which we must build with the right competitive conditions to deliver long-term growth,” added Hawes.
New products, skills and jobs
The expansion programme will create at least 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs across McLaren’s UK operations by 2032, while safeguarding existing positions. McLaren Automotive is planning to double its manufacturing workforce in the UK, supported by new apprenticeships.
The plans will also support the broader UK industry, with up to 3,000 additional jobs expected to be created across the McLaren Automotive supply chain.
Speaking of the investments, Andy Burnham, the UK Prime Minister stated, “McLaren Automotive is doubling down on Britain, keeping the design, the engineering and the building of every future car here, and taking on a thousand more people to do it. Their investment will create high-quality apprenticeships, jobs, and drive growth far beyond their factory gates. It is how you get skilled work, decent wages and pride back into a place.”
