McLaren Automotive announced a new $1.6 billion Track25 business plan at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday, a road map of its future models and technology development. This initiative is an updated version of the successful Track22 initiative that would see 15 new McLaren models and model variants by 2022, half of which would be hybrid.
Track25 is much more ambitious, promising 18 new models and variants by 2025, with the end goal of making McLaren’s entire lineup hybrid. McLaren will start by working on building a performance-oriented fast-charging battery that will allow up to 30 minutes of track driving. This also means that McLaren will build a new Ultimate Series car that will act as a direct successor to the P1 hypercar, its first hybrid model that it launched in 2015.
The plan also mentions that McLaren will develop new technology to make the ownership experience better. This means better cyber security and new wireless updates so owners don’t have to send their supercar to a dealership for software updates.
Another huge part of Track25 is McLaren’s new focus on the so-called “weight race” to make its cars as light as possible using cutting-edge materials developed at the company’s recently-opened McLaren Composites Technology Center in Sheffield, England.
Don’t worry though, McLaren says it will still only produce high-end, hand-assembled supercars, so for now that means there’s no sign of an SUV on the horizon. The plan predicts that with 18 new models introduced, McLaren will be able to produce 6,000 cars per year at its headquarters in Woking, England, a 75 percent increase above its current production numbers.
Speaking at Goodwood, CEO of McLaren Automotive Mike Flewitt explained:
“Everyone at McLaren Automotive remains constant in their focus of designing and crafting the world’s best drivers’ cars. True to McLaren’s spirit, however, our ambitions, continue to grow and our [$1.6 billion] Track25 business plan which covers 18 new models, including a new McLaren P1, is clear proof of that. We are a luxury brand that is committed to investing in innovation, whether that’s in the development and manufacture of our own carbon fibre tubs as part of a new [$66 million] British-based production centre, new powertrains with our entire range due to be hybrid by 2025 or the deployment of technology to enhance the driving and owning experience.”
Finally, McLaren is strengthening its ever-expanding dealership network by evaluating new retail locations in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and India. With 86 dealerships in 31 markets already, the company plans to hit 100 dealerships by 2025.
“As a global brand we are set to add more retailers in both existing and exciting new markets as demand for our products continues to grow,” Flewitt said. “While our plan sets the direction for the next seven years to take us through to the middle of the next decade, we need to also pause and acknowledge the great effort, ingenuity and competitive spirit of all of our incredible people on which our success, both now and in the future, rests.”
With its Track22 plan already a huge success, we can fully expect that McLaren will have a lot of cool stuff to announce in the near future. Stay tuned.