McLaren to recruit 250 staff to meet demand for its 200mph sports cars

McLaren will double the production staff at its Surrey base in an effort to meet the surging demand for its 200mph super cars. It will recruit 250 staff immediately to work on a second shift to its manufacturing line.

The privately held company had earlier stated that it had a target to increase its production capacity to 4,000 cars annually by 2017. However since the current single shift system had reached its peak output, it was inevitable but to add a second line to allow the company reach its target, which a McLaren source described as an "ambition".

It is understood that at this target, the sports car maker's futuristic-looking Sir Norman Foster-designed base would be operating at full throttle and that at the moment it has no plans to expand the Woking headquarters to allow for larger volumes, according to The Telegraph.

With regards to this cap on production, a company source said: "[It would ensure] McLarens remain a rare sight on the road and that 4,000 cars is seen as a sustainable production number."

This move, which will take the headcount at McLaren Automotive to 1,750 out of a total 3,000 at the group's base, is further indicative of the growing health of the UK automotive industry. Also, since about half the value of each of the company's cars is sourced domestically, this move will give a boost to British suppliers.

Cammell Laird, a privately held shipbuilder in the UK, had recently stated that Britain faced a shortage of engineering skills. However, McLaren does not expect to have trouble finding new production staff.

While the sports car maker's road car business sold 1,649 cars in the year to December 2014, it is widely expected to have sold even more in 2015, despite putting an end to the production of its £1m (€1.34m, $1.5m) P1 super car recently. The cheapest Mclaren model one could purchase is the 570S model, which is priced at £146,000. McLaren's automotive unit posted revenues worth £475m in 2014, a 70% increase from 2013, while profits tripled to £15m.