McLaren could produce carbonfibre tubs for other car manufacturers when its new factory near Sheffield is operational.
The new facility will have the capacity to make up to 10,000 carbonfibre tubs each year when it comes on stream, but McLaren has stated a desire to build only around 5000 cars a year. The new, Rotherham-based facility will create 200 jobs and is set to begin construction early this year; full production is slated for 2020.
That means there is scope for the firm to ramp up production in the future, but it is possible that McLaren will make carbonfibre structures for others.
Chief executive Mike Flewitt said: “We won’t do it until we’re up and running ourselves, but it is something we’re considering as an obvious expansion.”
McLaren’s next-generation architecture will be far more adaptable than today’s, allowing for differently sized models and the possibility of alternative powertrains, all of which would help with the production of limited-run tubs for other projects.
The plant is the first purpose-built facility outside of the current McLaren campus in Austria and has been formed through a partnership between McLaren Automotive, the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in Rotherham and Sheffield City Council.
Although nothing is yet set in stone, McLaren also says there is opportunity for expansion in the future, which would aim to double the £100m which the plant plans to have provided to the local economy within a decade.
Read more:
McLaren announces new £50m chassis facility in South Yorkshire
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Jaguar should pick up the dog
Jaguar should pick up the dog and bone and give them a call.