Revived McLaren Racing Ahead

British supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive celebrates the fifth anniversary of its relaunch with a record-breaking year.

McLaren reports operating profits increased to £23.5 million ($31.01 million) – the company’s third successive year in the black – on revenue of £450.6 million ($595 million). Spending on research and development last year was a record £123.9 million ($163.6 million).

It also recorded a fifth straight year of increasing global sales of its handcrafted cars to 1,654 units, up from 1,649 a year earlier and supported by the launch of five new models.

The company, based in Woking, Surrey, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of London, projects revenue to increase 50% over the next two years and double by the end of 2022.

The automaker calls 2015 an unprecedented year of growth with five new cars launched and the unveiling of the Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series products.

It also was a transition year, with the final McLaren P1TM built and the start of production of the new Sports Series models.

Growth at the company was steady in 2015.

Employment rose 16% in 2015 to 1,492 people and then rose again early this year to 1,750 with the introduction of a second shift at the McLaren Production Center and a further 250 jobs created in the production, quality and logistics departments. The expansion takes production from 10 cars a day to 20.

The McLaren global sales network expanded to more than 80 stores covering 30 markets as 12 new retailers opened, comprising important territories such as Seoul, South Korea, and Houston, TX.

McLaren’s Track22 Business Plan, taking it through to 2022, commits 20%-25% of revenue to be spent on research and development. Over a 6-year period, this represents spending of £1 billion and will lead to the launch of 15 all-new cars or derivatives.

Of these, at least 50% are to feature hybrid technology by the end of the business-plan period. The company also is in the early prototype stages of developing a fully electric powertrain, aiming to evaluate its possible use in a future generation of an Ultimate Series car.

CEO Mike Flewitt says the launch of the Sports Series opens up McLaren to an entirely new audience and will be pivotal in developing sales volumes from the 2015 levels of 1,600 to nearly triple that number by 2020.

“For this to be achievable, we need to remain profitable, but also continue to invest in our future product portfolio,” Flewitt says in a statement.

The company originates from McLaren Racing established by Bruce McLaren in 1963. After a brief fling with Mercedes-Benz, it was relaunched as a stand-alone supercar manufacturer in 2010.