For more than a year? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/06/30/mystery-investigation-could-put-brake-mclarens-profits/ Buried in the McLaren Group’s annual accounts, the business said it had been approached by unnamed “UK government authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation”. Investigators are seeking “information concerning certain third-party companies and concerning executive and other persons who have been, or are currently, associated with the group”, the documents said. The company is understood to have been aware of the inquiry for at least a year, but this is the first time details have emerged.
So they’re losing money in F1, losing money on the road cars and under investigation. Should make you feel good about buying a new Macca
As opposed to Ferrari who makes more off of each car than any other brand? Personally I’d rather buy a product knowing I’m not paying some huge mark up off their cost.
Guess Ferrari should stop being so efficient, increase for no reason their running costs and be on the brink of going bankrupt just after you bought their car to appeal to you then?
You can't lose money forever.... I have a question for your comment. Would you say the same for Apple? Or Google?
You can't look at margins and compare them to pure dollars. $500 premium on a device you use constantly, every day of your life? Not that big of a deal. $5K for red dye on your seatbelt? Bit different.
I don't think the investigation matters. It could be anything. If you go through quarterly reports for public companies, you see tons of them have various investigations on going at any given time. It's usually not a big deal.
Its called Capitalism -- the law of supply and demand. As long as people willingly pay for it, you can't blame a company for trying. If McLaren had people lining up to pay $500,000 for a 720s, would you deny them that opportunity for being so "greedy" when they could have sold it for much less? Or would you congratulate them for making an excellent product that people want to pay so much for?
$5K for collared eat belts? Gotta love the web! I just checked my sticker and it was $350 for orange belts. Maybe red is different, but I doubt it.
Actually it’s a Veblen good. Look it up. There is appeal in the markup. My children and I were discussing buying a 488. What is the allure ? If all cars performed at that level at a modest price would that be sufficient? Is it the absolute performance or the relative? Or is the allure having ratified performance and exclusivity ? Which makes it more desire able. For a Veblen good price drives much of the demand independently of the relative value of the increase in quality, performance, or rarity. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have no idea what the actual cost are, I was just making an arbitrary example of overpriced options. Even $350 for different colored belts is insane if you think about it.
$350 definitely doesn't seem like a value, but you aren't buying a Kia. If I remember correctly Porsche's belts are about the same price. Ferrari and Porsche are the champions of overpriced options. McLaren is just following their lead.... and in a capitalist society, the free market rules.
Let's not get into an argument over capitalism. It's a car forum. As far as I know they don't make any super cars in Venezuela.
I wonder if that is/was the alleged funny business that was going on with McLaren GT. As for profits, Mike Flewitt is running the company as a growth company, returning equity back to investors. Its tax efficient and the company has gone from 0 to 1 billion pounds valuation in just 6 years. As for F1, I think that is losing money for sure.
This is spot on. If anyone here has ever built a company you understand what it means to reinvest for growth but they will have to turn the corner soon to be viable long term.
I completely agree. And I think McLaren's product line growth has been much more than I believed when they started. But I also think they make too man 2 seat mid engine sports cars which overlap themselves or obsolete their product line very quickly. So its not that they spend a lot on new products (good) its that what they are spending it on isn't increasing their market share (bad).
Isn't it funny how Porsche & Lamborghini have been criticized for building SUV's? Now soon Ferrari but McLaren is sticking to building the highest performing sports cars on the market (for now). They aren't turning the models over as often as they once did - lesson learned. They will pick up production because they have to eventually turn a profit. You cant win... I will argue that McLaren is stealing business from Lamborghini and Ferrari and there is room for growth. I wouldn't be surprised if they come out with a $125 to $150K car to rival the 911 series. There is certainly some market share they can pick up there.
A lot of McLaren owners bemoan that every 2 years McLaren has a new model that obsoletes their model. Can't they build anything different than a 2 seat mid engine car? Ferrari does.
1) the models are more like 5 years now. 2) I doubt they build anything different in the near future and that doesnt bother me. I dont have an issue buying other makes for other uses. I have an M5, RR, and a Urus on order. It all works out. I dont think I am too different from other car people.
That's a good thing. I'm not criticizing them for making new models. It's just that they all are in the same market and tend to overlap too much.
Supercars in general are all kind of redundant if we are honest with ourselves. Does someone need a 720/P1 over a 570? No. But some can afford it and will pay. My opinion anyhow.