Singapore businessman Peter Lim has joined McLaren Automotive’s board of directors bringing significant investment with him and the promise of McLaren expansion in Asia
McLaren’s exciting new high-performance sports car company announced today that Singapore-based businessman Peter Lim has completed a significant investment in the company and will join the company’s board of directors with immediate effect.
Mr Lim’s investment and commitment to the future prospects of McLaren’s commercial car venture is a win for the company’s global growth strategy and a sign of confidence in the market value of the MP4-12C and any subsequent McLaren Automotive models. McLaren have termed initial demand for their first sports car as “encouraging”.
A McLaren statement has said that the company appreciate the addition of a well respected Asian partner in as a route to strengthening the company’s corporate and trading influence in the region. Demand from Asia for the MP4-12C is already healthy with 18 months worth of orders already received.
Welcoming Mr Lim on board Ron Dennis, executive chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Group said: “On behalf of the McLaren Automotive board, I welcome Peter Lim to McLaren and look forward to working closely with him as our company expands into the Asia region.
Mr Dennis continued: “Peter Lim’s track record in Asia as a highly respected business leader adds further quality to our board in this highly competitive business environment at an exciting time for the company.”
McLaren Automotive is determined to capitalize on the successful launch of the MP4-12C and has plans for a complete range of bespoke high-performance sports cars, technologically advance but hand-built in a new manufacturing facility, the McLaren Production Centre near Woking. These UK headquarters are co-located with the company’s Formula 1 activities and it is expected that the new range will be heavily influenced and inspired by developments on this side of the McLaren Group.
To support its entry into the commercial car market McLaren has laid extensive foundations for a retail network which it hopes to see expand worldwide. There are currently 35 experienced partners supporting the sale of the MP4-12C across 19 countries. Expansion plans for 2012 are however, modest though Asia-Pacific has been identified as a target region.
