McLaren’s hopes for growth put in Asian markets

British high-end car manufacturer McLaren will break even this year ahead of an expansion which takes place in Asia and higher-volume segments as it aims to more than double its annual sales. The car-maker, famous for its million-dollar sports cars such as the P1, quadrupled its sales last year and is betting on rising Chinese demand to lead an increase in sales to 4,000 by mid-decade.

“I expect about 1,500 [sales] this year and next year, and then after we get P13, around 4,000 cars,” said Mike Flewitt, companys CEO, referring to the new, lower-cost model in development.

Although a recent slowdown in economic growth hit the country’s car market, mainland China has become a hot topic for rival luxury marques such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. The country is expected to overtake the US as the biggest premium car market by the end of the decade.

McLaren is boosting distribution in China this month with three dealerships. The country is expected to account for 10% of McLaren’s sales next year, or about 150 vehicles, while the company sees no growth in Europe, mired in the biggest car sales declines for two decades, until at least 2019.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up with more than a third [of sales] in Asia,” the chief executive said in an interview for Financial Times. “I wouldnt be surprised if it was 40, 20, 40” he said, referring to sales percentages in North America, Europe and Asia in the medium-term.

McLaren’s earnings before interest, taxation, amortization and deprecation was just over 7 million pounds in 2012, according to documents seen by the Financial Times, against a loss of 53 million pounds in 2011, thanks to an almost 300% increase in revenue to 266 million pounds.

The car-maker also stated has no near-future plans to follow fellow UK luxury marques Bentley and Jaguar into selling SUV models.

It’s not the right time to be considering that,” Mr Flewitt said. “McLaren needs the global audience to understand our brand, so we need to be consistent in what we build.”