INTRODUCTION

The McLaren Group is a British car manufacturing company. The group was established from a Formula One team by Bruce McLaren in 1963. The company’s prime identity is its F1 Team. The group has made efforts and have succeeded in manufacturing motorized devices for the wind and solar industries. It is also manufacturing one of the most luxurious cars for its customers.

This article discusses a brief overview of the history, challenges, achievements, business model, features and much more about the brand. The article will try to sum up the brand’s past, present identity, and, future outlook.

McLAREN HISTORY

In 1963, Bruce McLaren started Bruce McLaren Motor Racing. Bruce had an aim to develop sports cars besides his role as a lead driver in the Cooper Grand Prix team. Bruce and his team built the first true McLaren sports car – the M1A – which became a top choice in sports car racing both in Europe and America.  This was succeeded by M1B and got a prominent place in the early stages of its launch. These cars were competitive and overtook most of the famous racing cars of that time.

• The company launched the F7A which was among the fastest cars of the racing season.

• Bruce died while testing a car at Goodwood in 1970. Teddy Mayer took charge of the company.

The group launched companies like:

TAGMcLaren Audio.

 Absolute Taste.

McLaren Automotive.

McLaren Applied Technologies.

• The group also has provided services to Londons’ Heathrow airport by providing assistance in electronics.
• It has also helped GlaxoSmithKline plc- a famous pharmaceutical company.
• The group has applied services to Mercedes SLR and spacecraft parts.

FAMOUS CARS BY McLAREN

• It has introduced cars like:

M12.

675LT.

M6GT.

Senna.

625C.

570S.

F1.

P1 GTR.

P1.

570GT.

650S.

540C Coupé.

570 S Spider.

600 LT Spider.

720 S.

720 Spider.

Speed Tail.

Elva.

620R.

765 LT.

F1 LM.

Senna XP Special Editions.

720S Le Mans Edition.

570GT MSO Cabbean.

MSO HS.

Carbon Series LT.

MSO 650 S.

12C GT Can-Am.

BUSINESS MODEL OF McLAREN

McLaren group generates its revenues by selling sports cars, supercars, and electronic control systems for the motorsport industry. It has three divisions namely;

RACING

This division designs, manufactures and operates Formula 1 car.

AUTOMOTIVE

This business division offers a range of luxury high-performance cars across three product families: Super Series, Sports Series, and Ultimate Series.

APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES

McLaren’s Applied Technologies division offers its services to various markets such as automotive, public transport, and health.

Since COVID-19, the group has taken strict measures to control its costs and knows that its sales will witness a dip in the near future. It has slowed down its production of sports cars due to low demand and unfortunately had to cut jobs across the group as a cost-control measure.

MARKETING MIX OF ASTON MARTIN

A company’s marketing mix refers to the strategies and tactics applied to execute the marketing plan, with a focus on products, place, promotion, and price (the 4Ps). These 4 P’s of McLaren are discussed below:

PRODUCT

The company offers a wide range of sports cars with different models. It also provides services to many other companies through its applied technologies division. The company has produced one of the most famous lines of sports cars for Formula One and now using this competitive advantage by selling its sports cars on a commercial basis. These include:

Super Cars.

Sports Series.

Ultimate Series.

PRICE

The company deploys a value-based pricing strategy. It charges a high price for its products. These cars are manufactured for customers with high consideration for racing cars.

PLACE

The company has showrooms for its car sales in different parts of the world including:

North America.

Europe.

Middle East.

Australia.

PROMOTION

The group has run many promotional and advertisement campaigns for its marketing purposes. Some of them include:

The Drum.

Be a Pilot, Not a Driver.

570 S ad.

P1 ad.

The group has also used means like:

Magazines

Motor Shows

Social Media

Youtube

Racing events

CELEBRITIES USING McLAREN

These include:

Jason Statham.

David Backham.

Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rowan Atkinson.

Lewis Hamilton.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF ASTON MARTIN

The company before carrying out these campaigns uses SWOT analysis to make its products successful. SWOT analysis of Aston Martin includes:

STRENGTHS

• Use of advanced technologies.
• A wide range of sports cars.
• Innovation.
• Diversity due to different divisions offering different services to other companies and industries.
• Strong brand image.

WEAKNESSES

• Less penetration into developing economies.
• The use of social media and online marketing for its products is not up to its brand’s image.
• TV advertisements are not as much as the company’s wide range of sports cars for their customers.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Can choose to develop and emerging economies for its products.
• It can develop electric cars in the future.

THREATS

• Many automobile companies can enter the market due to low market barriers.
• Legislation in certain countries for protecting their local automobile industry.
• Increasing fuel costs.
• Trade wars between leading economies.
• Ongoing recession after the pandemic of COVID-19.
• Strong marketing campaigns of competitors.

CURRENT BRAND IDENTITY OF McLAREN

McLaren has strengthened its identity as a sports car manufacturing company. The group has emerged from a Formula One Racing Team to a large group with different divisions offering a wide variety of services.

With different divisions, the logo of each division identifies the unique identity and competitive advantage of McLaren Group in this current age.

STATS

Founded: Septmeber 02, 1963.

CEO: Mike Flewitt

Revenue: 1.486 GBP (2019)

Headquarters: Woking, United Kingdom

CONCLUSION

The current situation has forced the McLaren group to review its cost and resource requirements across the group. With a refreshed approach, and addressing this challenging scenario of COVID-19, the group has to come up with renewed commitment and marketing strategies. It has to go for the new markets in the future. This will ensure that the company can attract new customers for its cars and other services. The company must realize that there are also competitors like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc. that are already having a large market share due to their wide range of products.