Opinion: is an electric SUV really the answer to McLaren's problems?
McLaren's road car division has financial problems. Jethro reckons they should look to the Formula One team for solutions Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
On the face of it McLaren has everything. A rich history including the most iconic road car of all time, nine constructors' titles in F1, a personal story that takes in humble beginnings, personal triumph, outrageous Can-Am racers and cruel tragedy. Plus, it is dominating at the highest echelons of motorsport once again and has just announced a return to Le Mans in the Hypercar class. Oh, and the 750S is one of the greatest supercars ever made. What a dream.
Yet it has just been taken over by Forseven. What is Forseven, you might ask? Well, quite. The LinkedIn page proudly states it is 'crafting unforgettable cars that blend British luxury with visionary technologies, forever". It's true that nobody has forgotten any of the cars. Mostly because the company hasn't actually made any.
Advertisement - Page continues below
Forseven is owned by CYVN Holdings, a fund backed by the Abu Dhabi government that has recently also acquired McLaren Automotive. It's 700 people strong, has a tech agreement with Chinese manufacturer Nio, is made up of notable ex-JLR staff and is described by the Financial Times as an 'all-EV British startup'.
Has your heart sunk yet? Mine too. To be fair, something had to be done. The road car division of McLaren has been haemorrhaging cash for years now and its former owner (Mumtalakat, the Bahraini sovereign wealth fund) has cried enough after some £1.5 billion of investment. It's been so disastrous that McLaren had to sell its incredible headquarters and lease it back to free up some money. You might like
Why the endless turmoil? I'm sure the full answer is deeply complex. But in a world where product is king, it can be boiled down to some very simple things: overproliferation of models in the early years; too many reliability woes; oversupply; cookie-cutter design. The knock on effect to all of this is historically poor residuals compared to Ferrari and Porsche's special models. Restoring buyer confidence when even fantastic cars like the 750S are half price seven minutes after the owner picks them up is very, very difficult.
How do you solve a problem like McLaren? I don't proclaim to know. But all the noises emerging from the dark recesses of the internet suggest Forseven's leaders hope the answer is, erm, an SUV with an EV powertrain. I mean, why not? It literally hasn't worked for anyone else, the entire concept is in direct opposition to McLaren's brand values and history and it doesn't address the real issues at hand with, for example, the Artura. But other than that it sounds a solid plan.
Advertisement - Page continues below
The wildest thing of all is that the one guy I would trust to turn McLaren Automotive around works within the same building. His name is Zak Brown. He loves cars. He gets McLaren and he's made the F1 outfit (which CYVN has bought a much smaller stake in) a winning operation with an intelligent, fiercely competitive and consistent approach. It took him six years to get it back to the top, with many ups and downs along the way. The road car division is an even bigger project, yet Forseven claims to have a turnaround plan that will be executed 'at incredible pace'. Oh dear. Zak... have a word, will you?
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox.
Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
What these five Chinese car brands did before they made cars
By One in 10 cars sold in Britain last month were made in China, latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show. In the past week, three car makers hailing from China have announced they will launch in Britain. But this new period of automotive brings a lot to debate - price wars, the threat of cheap EVs, and security issues for starters. And another gripe people have with new Chinese car makers is many aren't actually car makers. Instead, many are tech brands masquerading as car companies. As opposed to legacy European brands like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, these new Chinese companies don't have automotive histories going back over a hundred years. Instead many of them have technology-based roots or in some cases, even more unusual beginnings. We've dug into the pasts of four of China's automotive powerhouses to get to know them a bit better. And we've looked into a fifth that bucks the technology trend, standing proud as a car maker that has always and only made cars. Geely - from fridge parts to EVs... How it started: Geely's origins have a colder start, as the automotive powerhouse began life as a refrigerator parts manufacturer. In 1986, Eric Li founded Huangyan Refrigerator Parts in Taizhou City in the Zhejiang Province of China. For eight years it made refrigerators, freezers and construction and decorative materials. Then in 1994, Huangyan Huatian Motorcycles Factory was established – the predecessor of Geely and the Geely trademark was registered. It wasn't until 1997 that Geely entered the automotive industry. It wanted to produce affordable cars for those on tight budgets, and in doing so it became China's first privately-owned auto manufacturer. How it's going: In 2002, Geely entered into China's top 10 automakers, and by 2010 was in a position to acquire Volvo. Taking 100 percent of the shares of Volvo Car Corporation from Ford, Geely started its Western expansion and quickly snapped up 51 percent of Lotus in 2017, and 9.69 percent of Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz owner) in 2018. Thanks to these acquisitions Geely Auto was the first Chinese car brand to sell one million vehicles. In 2024, Geely achieved record-breaking sales of almost 2.2 million vehicles – a 34 percent year-on-year increase. Sales outside China increased 21 percent year-on-year, to almost 1.22 million units. And electrified sales grew over 52 percent to almost 45 percent of aggregate sales. Geely will debut under its own name in Britain with the arrival of its EX5 SUV towards the end of the year. BYD – mobile phone batteries to the world's biggest EV maker How it started: BYD was founded in November 1994 by Wang Chuanfu, a Chinese chemist and entrepreneur. He wanted to compete against expensive Japanese battery manufacturers and become a world leader in energy generation, energy storage and rechargeable batteries. In 1996, BYD began manufacturing lithium-ion batteries for modern day smartphones, just as there was a boom in the devices. Throughout the early 2000s, BYD supplied batteries to Motorola and Nokia - at the time two of the biggest players in the mobile phone industry. In 2003, BYD was in a position to sidestep into the automotive industry, acquiring a small car maker called Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile. Its first combustion car, the F3, arrived in 2005, before releasing the plug-in hybrid F3DM in 2008. Warren Buffet invested 10 percent ($230million) and BYD became famous. BYD really took off when it introduced its lithium-ion Phosphate Blade battery in 2020 which increased space utilization by 50 percent and delivered a range boost also of up to 50 percent. How it's going: BYD began exporting outside China in 2010. By 2024, it reached an annual overseas sales figure of 417,204 units – a 71.86 percent increase on 2023. By 2030, BYD aims to sell half its cars outside its native land. In 2024, BYD sold 4,272,145 vehicles globally, marking a substantial increase from 427,302 in 2020. As of March 2025, BYD's sold 11.6 million EVs to date. Tesla on the other hand – who used to be the biggest EV maker in the world - has sold 7.5 million EVs. China's Geely, the owner of Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, is the third biggest EV manufacturer in the world, and yet has just 1.4 million EVs comparatively. BYD is now the largest electric car maker in the world after dethroning Tesla in 2023. Xpeng – search browsers to AI cars How it started: Xpeng is core of the tech-to-car Chinese movement, as it was founded in 2014 as a smart driving technology company. It wanted to redefine the driving experience and use artificial intelligence to craft its EVs. Why did it have this angle? Because it was created by He Xiaopeng, a self-made tech trailblazer who built UCWeb – China's most popular mobile browser. He sold it in 2014 to Alibaba for $4.3billion before pivoting to automotive after being inspired by Tesla and sustainable transport. In 2017, Xpeng revealed its first model, the Xpeng G3, an electric SUV, with deliveries commencing in 2018. Then in 2020, it launched the P7, which made headlines for its AI driving mode. This year Xpeng officially launched in the UK with the G6 all-electric coupe SUV which costs from £39,990. XPeng says 'it is a technology company at heart' and wants to use technology to transform the future of mobility – from road EVs to ones that fly. In this way it is fully embracing its technology origins, not trying to shy away or downplay them. How it's going: In the first half of 2025, Xpeng delivered 197,189 vehicles, already topping its total deliveries for last year which stood at 190,068 vehicles. It's a year-on-year increase of 279.01 percent and marks the eight consecutive month since November 2024 that Xpeng's deliveries have exceeded 30,000 units. As of June, XPeng has entered over 40 countries and regions globally and has set itself a goal that half of future sales coming from overseas markets. Its cumulative sales to date tally up to 752,957. Xiaomi – the smartphone maker turned EV maker How it's going: In June the U7 went on sale and within three minutes Xiaomi said it received 200,000 pre-orders. The orders required a non-refundable deposit of 5,000 yuan (£509) for the vehicles, which are priced from 253,500 yuan to 329,900 yuan. This is unprecedented new vehicle demand in China, where monthly sales of 10,000 units for a single model are a success in its highly competitive EV market. It outdoes annual deliveries of other electric car makers, and could overtake Tesla's sales in China of 480,000 units. The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is already the fastest electric production car to have lapped the Nurburgring in just 7m 04.95s. Chery - the Chinese car maker that started by making cars How it started: Chery is in rare company in the Chinese automotive world because it is, and always has been, a car manufacturer. This will make naysayers rejoice. Chery was founded in 1996 by a group of government officials who established the automotive company to reduce poverty in Anhui and drive wider economic development. Engine-manufacturing equipment was bought from Ford in the UK, and tooling from VW's Seat. Factory construction commenced in early 1997, with the first vehicles rolling off the production line towards the end of 1999. Mass production came a year later. How it's going: It became the first passenger car company in China to export complete vehicles and as of 2024 it sold more cars last year than BMW: Chery shifted a whopping 2.6million units in 2024 - a 38.4 percent increase on 2023. It's been China's top exporter of passenger vehicles for 21 consecutive years. By production, it was China's third-largest automotive maker in 2024. Chery has launched two sub-brands in the UK in the last year, Omoda and Jaecoo, which have already gained two percent market share. This is Money exclusively revealed this week that Chery is coming to the UK this summer under its own brand, with two SUVs going on sale soon. The first will be revealed at Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
China-based Hesai appeals ruling over US linking firm to Chinese military
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - China-based lidar manufacturer Hesai Group (ZN80y.F), opens new tab appealed a ruling on Monday upholding a U.S. government decision to add it to a list of companies allegedly working with Beijing's military. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington ruled on Friday that the Defense Department's finding that Hesai contributes to the Chinese defense industrial base is supported by substantial evidence reflecting lidar's military application, national security concerns around Chinese lidar makers and Hesai's cooperation with Chinese agencies. Hesai said it appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
What Trump must now do to force Putin's hand
If Donald Trump is serious about imposing punitive sanctions on Russia, there is one immediate diplomatic move that he could make. He could dispatch an envoy not to Moscow but to Beijing to warn China's leaders that they are only 50 days away from US tariffs of 100 per cent unless they stop buying Russian oil. Xi Jinping might then turn to his junior partner, Vladimir Putin, and suggest that Russia avoids this outcome by agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine. But there is no public sign of anything like this happening and the danger remains that after the 50 days have elapsed, Mr Trump will fail to act on his words. The war on Ukraine will go on as before, with Putin escaping the heaviest sanctions that America can enact. We have, after all, been here before. Mr Trump has often criticised Putin's intransigence and threatened more sanctions. On May 29 he said that 'within two weeks we're going to find out whether or not [Putin is] tapping us along'. Two weeks passed with no action. The new 50-day countdown could end in the same way. It remains a remarkable fact that Mr Trump has not imposed a single new sanction on Russia since he regained the White House six months ago. All regimes of this kind are vulnerable to circumvention as the target country finds ways around the restrictions. The only way to respond is by constantly updating and extending the sanctions, closing loopholes as soon as they open. Hence Britain and the EU announce new measures against Russia every few months. But Mr Trump has done nothing since he took office in January 2025, allowing American sanctions to wither on the vine. And now, despite the build-up, there will be nothing for the next 50 days. No wonder the Moscow stock exchange reacted to the president's announcement by rising sharply. Yet markets can be wrong and everything could be different this time. If, as seems possible, Mr Trump now supplies Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including long range missiles capable of striking targets in Russia – and if he allows Kyiv to use them for that purpose – then Putin will know that American policy really has changed. He should by now have realised that Mr Trump is genuinely exasperated by the bone-headed obduracy of Russian diplomacy. Speaking in the Oval Office, the president emphasised how he thought that a peace deal in Ukraine was in sight 'about four times', but 'here we are still talking' and 'it just keeps going on and on'. That would not worry Putin if Mr Trump was inclined to blame Volodymyr Zelensky for the deadlock. But the penny seems to have dropped that Ukraine accepted America's proposed ceasefire as long ago as March 11, while all that Putin has done is fire ever more killer drones and ballistic missiles at Ukraine's cities. In the struggle to influence Mr Trump's perceptions, from which all US policy flows, Putin for the first time, seems to be losing. Mr Trump is no longer inclined to exonerate his Russian counterpart. Putin's own view of Mr Trump's threatened sanctions will soon become clear. If Russia returns to the negotiating table with a modified set of demands, perhaps conceding that it will never gain another inch of Ukrainian territory, then Mr Trump will have succeeded in forcing Putin to change his position. But it remains equally possible that Putin will sit tight and wait for the latest deadline to pass as uneventfully as the last one.
