Hundreds of new jobs will be generated when McLaren Automotive completes the construction of a new manufacturing facility in three months.
The 32,000 square metre high tech McLaren Production Centre (MPC) will eventually see the manufacture of all sports cars. This bespoke £40m facility, ready in May, is being built on a site adjacent to the Technology Centre, in Woking, Surrey.
The MPC will support up to 800 jobs and will be making around 4,000 cars a year by the middle of the decade, although production in the first year will be closer to 1,000 units. Up to 300 jobs will be created directly as a result, with many hundreds more indirectly through the construction programme, supply chain, and new global retail network.
Funding for the £40 million investment has come from McLaren Automotive’s existing shareholders.
The company also announced the beginning of the production of its first high performance super car, the MP4-12C, in a move seen as a further boost to the UK’s automotive sector.
Ron Dennis, executive chairman of McLaren Automotive, said: “The start of production is a significant milestone and confirms our intention to challenge convention at the highest levels of automotive design, from a high-tech facility that I am proud to say will deliver jobs, expertise and innovation in manufacturing and engineering.”
The MP4-12C is a lightweight, high-quality, mid-engined two-seat high-performance sports car. All components are bespoke to McLaren, as are the new technologies used to develop them.
McLaren Automotive plans to build up to 1,000 12Cs this year. Production of the first of these cars follows the same build and quality processes that McLaren developed for the £300,000 carbon-fibre based Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. However, the 12C will retail at around half that price thanks to an innovative one-piece carbon-fibre chassis structure.
“Everything we have achieved as a well-honed and fiercely competitive racing team over the past 30 years has prepared us for this moment. It is with great confidence, and genuine excitement, that we move forward with our plans to open a new chapter for McLaren and the UK’s manufacturing industries,” Dennis said.
