McLaren drives into Middle East with MP4-12C

[iqurean]

The global automotive sector has just started to show signs of recovery after being battered by the global slowdown. But that has not put off luxury super carmakers to drive into the Middle East market. The latest to join the bandwagon, McLaren Automotive, is launching its debut high-performance sports car – McLaren MP4-12C – that will go on sale in the Middle East next year. Ian Gorsuch, Regional Director for Middle East and Africa, McLaren Automotive, part of the UK-based McLaren Group, said the Middle East is a key market for his company and anticipates that about 10 per cent of the company's total sales will be in the Middle East.
Ian Gorsuch says,
"The Middle East is a key market for us. The region has proven to be one of the fastest-growing areas for premium vehicles and performance-driven brands and our new range of sports cars will sit well in the market here. Customers here are well informed and passionate. They are aware of the McLaren brand from Formula One, the F1 road car and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Once we have our sales and support network in place, I expect our new car to be very well received.
People in the UAE have a real passion for, and understanding of, high-end sports cars, which is one reason it is important for us to build a strong base here. For them, the brand name of McLaren carries weight, both in terms of our motorsport experience and our previous road car-building programme. We know which competitors we will be benchmarked against and are confident of our performance against theirs."

The McLaren MP4-12C will sit in the 'core' sports car market segment for cars costing between £125,000 (Dh732,875) and £175,000. The MP4-12C is the first in a range of sports cars that McLaren will be launching over the coming years.