Deliveries of the McLaren Artura have gotten pushed to early July. It is the third delay for the plug-in hybrid supercar.
Chip shortages have caused yet another delay in the debut of a vital new McLaren model.
The Artura’s delivery date has been pushed back to early July, marking the third delay for McLaren’s plug-in hybrid supercar.
Because of operating issues induced by the pandemic, the anticipated October 2020 market debut was pushed back to June 2021. Due to supplier concerns, delivery in the United States were pushed back until the early fall.
The Artura debuts McLaren’s Carbon Lightweight Architecture platform, which blends a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 engine with an electric motor and a 7.4-kilowatt-hour battery for the first time in a McLaren.
The latest delay was confirmed by McLaren spokesperson Roger Ormisher.
“We waited longer than everyone else to discontinue manufacturing,” Ormisher added, “but regrettably, our semiconductor supply ran out.” “As a result, we had to cut production across the board.”
McLaren isn’t the only one in this boat. For much of the year, supply-chain constraints have slowed assembly lines and hampered new launch timetables across the car industry.
Microchip shortages are expected to last until the second quarter of 2022, according to AutoForecast Solutions, which forecasts that up to 11.3 million cars would be dropped from manufacturer schedules throughout the world until bottlenecks are cleared.
McLaren just informed dealers that chip prices had soared tenfold this year. According to a source, the carmaker is putting its limited chip supply toward higher-margin products like the Elva and 765LT Spider.
However, Robert DiStanislao, president of RDS Automotive, which manages two McLaren dealerships in Philadelphia and in Newport Beach, Calif., claimed McLaren was “not as diligent” in securing semiconductor supply at the start of the chip crisis as some other manufacturers.
“They had no idea the scarcity would turn into such a dire situation,” DiStanislao added. “They assumed it would be fixed sooner.”
Ormisher believes that chip shortage will lessen in the coming year. According to him, there is now a new ability to obtain semiconductors.
He remarked, “It’s starting to come back a little bit.”
As throaty combustion engines are increasingly considered as anachronisms by environmentally aware governments, the Artura indicates a new approach for the British sports car company.
McLaren aims to have a fully electric portfolio by 2026, with the first EV vehicle arriving towards the end of the decade.
The Artura is a top priority for McLaren, with the manufacturer reserving 40% of production capacity for the new vehicle in 2022, according to dealers.
It’s a McLaren conquest car with a starting price of $229,500 plus shipment.
According to DiStanislao, the Artura “gets to the meaty portion of the supercar market.” “It aids in bulk reduction. The excitement is generated at that pricing point.”
As McLaren’s first hybrid series-production car, the Artura targets a new customer — younger, technology-focused early adopters.
It is a “showcase for McLaren’s engineering capabilities to a wider audience,” AutoForecast Vice President Sam Fiorani said.
