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McLaren sales soaring in Australia

Aussie sales of British supercar brand soar by almost 50 per cent in 2017

2017 McLaren 720S drive
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McLaren growth is continuing to outpace that of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini in Australia.

Sales have soared by 45.8 per cent year-to-date and – with two months of the calendar to go – the British supercar brand is on track to achieve a record 103 sales by the end of 2017.

2017-McLaren-720S.jpgThat is quadruple the number it shifted in 2012 (23), 2013 (26) and 2014 (26), and although the real ascent started in 2015 (36) and 2016 (93), next year promises to be even bigger for McLaren as 570S Spider and 720S deliveries start. McLaren Asia/Pacific managing director George Biggs certainly made that point very clear on a visit from Singapore to Sydney for the launch of the drop-top 570S.

“It’s interesting because all the registrations stuff you see, that’s a lagging indicator,” Biggs explains. “We’re looking at the next six to nine months’ worth of demand. I’m not looking at the previous 12.” Although Biggs failed to nominate specific targets, he expects the 570S Spider to outsell its hard-top equivalent locally, while the incoming 720S should eclipse sales of the 650S.

mclaren-570S-configurator.JPGEither way, growth will continue without an SUV boost. McLaren global head of product Alex Long, who flanked Biggs during the local trip, was unequivocal about the resistance the company has to developing an SUV, despite a recent announcement by Ferrari that it is developing one: “It very much remains [that] we have no intention of moving into that marketplace.

We want to remain exclusive. We’re not chasing down volume ... and that remains our objective irrespective of other companies’ strategies.” For comparison, this year Aston Martin is up 21.2 per cent and on track to shift 144 cars, Ferrari is down 4.8 per cent and is tipped to shift 167 models, while Lamborghini is down 18.3 per cent and in line to sell 118 vehicles.

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Daniel DeGasperi

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