McLaren lands in Beirut

Q&A with Mike Flewitt

Q&A with McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt

September saw the launch of the supercar brand McLaren in the local market with a new showroom in Downtown’s 3 Beirut complex, with its vehicles on sale for the first time in the country. Executive sat down with Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Automotive Mike Flewitt to talk about the relatively young brand and their local partnership with Fayez Rasamny, CEO of Rasamny Younis Group of Companies (RYMCO), the parent company of McLaren Lebanon.

Why open in Lebanon?

When you go into a country, it’s partly about the market, and partly about the partner you find in the market. I see Beirut is a city that’s now devel- oping very, very much. There’s a lot of investment, and it almost feels like it’s a center for luxury in the region—this is really a market. I drive around and I see sportscars, supercars, and I see people enjoying these kinds of cars. We’re a young company, so it was important we waited for the right time, but I think the market is now ready for McLaren. We also waited till we found the right partner. The partner we have here is Fayez [Rasamny], and he knows the country, the automotive market, he knows our cars, he has made tremendous investment [and has] real confidence in McLaren. So we brought those two things together, and I think this is a good time, [and] we have a good future. We have to build a future from this very strong base.