McLaren to open £50m supercar manufacturing facility

Woking-headquartered luxury sports car producer McLaren Automotive is to open a new purpose-built facility at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in a move expected to create more than 200 jobs.The high-performance supercar manufacturer will open a Composites Technology Centre at the North of England’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District within the Sheffield City Region.Developed with the support of Sheffield City Council, the facility will be responsible for the development and manufacturing of advanced carbon fibre chassis for McLaren Automotive’s supercars.The partnership will create more than 200 jobs through a combined investment of nearly £50m.The Composites Technology Centre represents a reshoring of the manufacturing of car chassis to the North of England – a key objective of Northern Powerhouse and Industrial Strategy policies.McLaren Automotive and the University of Sheffield will deliver a two-year research and development programme, which will lead to the development of a production facility to build its lightweight carbon fibre chassis for its new models from 2020.The University of Sheffield’s AMRC Training Centre will also immediately start training McLaren apprentices who will work in the new facility.Professor Ridgway praised the University of Sheffield; Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership; Sheffield City Council and its inward investment arm, Creative Sheffield; for their part in helping to clinch the deal.The university’s ongoing investment in facilities and developing capabilities was said to have been a catalyst to attract McLaren.