SUVs have given ultraluxury companies a solid revenue boost.
For example, in the first quarter, the Bentayga SUV accounted for 42 percent of Bentley sales, while the Lamborghini Urus accounted for over half the brand’s sales in the same period.
McLaren Automotive Group’s loss increased to 335 million pounds ($433 million) in 2022, up from a 136 million pound loss a year earlier as the company struggled to roll out its core Artura V-6 plug-in hybrid model amid supply chain constraints.
The Artura is still facing delays in the US, McLaren’s largest global market.
McLaren sold 2,188 cars in 2022, less than half of its record sales performance in 2018, when it had 4,806 sales.
McLaren Group, which includes the company’s Formula One racing arm, is in the process of raising more money from its largest shareholder Mumtalakat, the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund.
The company is waiting for Mumtalakat to approve and finance a business plan extending to the end of the decade.
“We have presented the plan to the board and to the shareholders. Our shareholders are excited about that,” Leiters said.
In June, Mumtalakat bought shares and warrants worth 400 million pounds in McLaren from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Ares Management in June, with together investing £400 million in 2021.