McLaren opens mega showroom
UK sportscar marque also makes changes in Saudi and Bahrain dealer networks
The McLaren surge of 2016 is not showing any signs of slowing even a bit this year. The British sportscar maker has just had the opening of the world’s largest showroom dedicated to it in Dubai (on Shaikh Zayed and operated by Al Habtoor Motors). The twin-storey, 600-square-metre structure already makes a strong statement with its giant LED display facing the highway.
And it will double down with new partners to handle operations in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. New showrooms and aftermarket facilities are to open in both markets, which would set up McLaren for a strong secondhalf. And early in the second quarter, there will be a debut in Lebanon, opening up another market where its high-value models are likely to hit the high notes. It’s certainly been doing so in the UAE, which has been the dominant regional contributor to its 2016 sale of more than 200 cars from a 50 per cent plus year-on-year growth. “Market conditions continue to be difficult… but enough is happening at the local retail level to ensure momentum is maintained this year,” said Andreas Bareis, Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
And the big bang for McLaren Automotive in 2017 will come from the next version of its Super Series line-up, which will be unveiled at March’s Geneva car show. It represents the firstever “replacement of a product family” and the first of 15 new cars/derivatives that would bulk up McLaren’s Track22 Business Plan up to 2022. “Pre-orders from this region are quite high – and these were done without anyone actually seeing the model,” said Bareis.
“Deliveries should start by the third or fourth quarter this year – there should be enough of that happening for us to be confident of the final 2017 Mideast numbers,” he said.