McLaren CEO calls for UK to be a supercar ‘centre-of-excellence’ for next-generation battery technology.
Michael Leiters, McLaren Automotive CEO, said:
The UK, with its rich history in high-performance automotive manufacturing and elite motorsport, faces a golden opportunity to lead the electrification of supercar production if it can attract investment into the domestic supply-chain.
Mr Leiters says the existing UK supply-chain is currently not equipped to meet the unique performance requirements of electric supercars and calls on any future UK Government to provide a strategic roadmap for investment in future powertrain technologies.
Mr Leiters, said:
âA clear industrial strategy, led by investment in the domestic supply-chain, will deliver growth, support jobs, help decarbonise the economy and secure a vibrant future for the UK performance car industry,â
âItâs time we regained confidence in our sector by investing in a world-class domestic supply-chain to support the development of tomorrowâs high-performance vehicles,â he says.
âThe UK was once the worldâs largest vehicle exporter. Today it remains home to some of the worldâs most admired performance car brands, as well as the majority of Formula 1 racing teams,â
âWe must harness the skills, knowledge and ingenuity of the UK motorsport and performance car industry to create a global, high-performance centre of excellence,â he says.
âUK-based luxury and sports car brands command tremendous pricing power thanks to their rich histories, intrinsic brand value and class-leading performance attributes.
âAs a result, the productivity gross value added of McLaren employees is 51% higher than that of the UK automotive manufacturing sector as a whole.
âWith more than 90% of McLaren supercars being exported, the UK performance car industry provides an excellent return on investment for taxpayers,â says Mr Leiters.
Mr Leiters says government support is also essential in order to âde-riskâ the transition to electrification.
âThe costs of this technological shift are astronomical, especially for low-volume, highly-specialised suppliers,â he says.
âToday, customer demand for electric supercars remains extremely low as the technology is not sufficiently mature to rival the performance of todayâs hybrid and combustion engine offerings, which makes it a risky investment both for OEMs and their suppliers.
âBut we have an opportunity to invest in next-generation, high power-dense battery cell manufacturing and ensure the UK is at the forefront of future performance car powertrain technology,â he says.
âEven hybrid vehicles, which we expect will account for the majority of supercars sold throughout this decade, require the need to locally-source high-performance battery technology due to the EU ârules of originâ requirements on exported vehicles,â says Mr Leiters.
Mr Leiters says the challenge of meeting rules of origin requirements would only increase with the shift to pure electric vehicles.
âToday, our hybrid McLaren Artura powertrain has 64% UK content. If this car was a pure EV, the UK content of the powertrain would reduce to 13% because we cannot currently source the relevant componentry in the UK.â
Mr Leiters says that historically it has been the luxury and high-performance market that has led the industry in technological change.
âLook at the McLaren P1 â a technological trail-blazer which proved the capability of high-performance hybrid technology long before electrification was in the mainstream.â
âDeveloping a pure EV McLaren supercar, which can rival – if not exceed – the performance and driver-engagement of todayâs supercars, could help drive the transition towards pure electrification among mass-market customers,â he says.
Mr Leiters says that attracting the right battery suppliers to the UK would also bring long-term benefits outside the performance car industry.
âIn the future, a thriving UK supply-chain specialising in cutting-edge, high energy density cells would not only support supercar production but also other advanced manufacturing needs such as vertical take-off aircraft and drones,â he says.
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McLaren CEO calls for UK to be a supercar ‘centre-of-excellence’ for next-generation battery technology. source