So does Porsche, Aston Martin and Maserati. Even Ferrari has confirmed they’ll be unveiling an SUV by 2020 the latest. It’s an easy-to-understand business decision, as sport utility vehicles continue to surge in popularity over small and midsize sedans in the US. As Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, told CNBC, "We have SUVs eventually crossing the 50 percent threshold by themselves in the near future." One is around the brand, one is around the technology and the other is around the financials. So, the brand: an SUV is only going to dilute the McLaren brand. Our brand and heritage is motorsport and great drivers’ cars. Considering McLaren started as a championship racing team that decided to break into the supercar game in 1992 with their now-iconic F1, that makes sense. Related: 8 Best Dream Cars of 2018 for Entrepreneurs As an independent company, McLaren doesn’t share the resources enjoyed by brands like Lamborghini, Porsche and Bentley, all of which are all part of Volkswagen Auto Group. “Nothing wrong with them,” Flewitt told Top Gear, “but we don’t have a technology set that suits an SUV, so we’d be starting from scratch."
Lamborghini has one. So does Porsche, Aston Martin and Maserati. Even Ferrari has confirmed they’ll be unveiling an SUV by 2020 the latest.
It’s an easy-to-understand business decision, as sport utility vehicles continue to surge in popularity over small and midsize sedans in the US. As Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, told CNBC, “We have SUVs eventually crossing the 50 percent threshold by themselves in the near future.”
There is one holdout, however. Mike Flewitt, CEO of British supercar manufacturer McLaren, says they will not be joining the pack and building an SUV. Top Gear reports:
There’s more than enough SUVs in the world, and we don’t need another one. That’s sort of the flippant side.
Effectively when we look at products — and…
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