McLaren MP4-12C supercar
McLaren Automotive North American Regional Director Anthony Joseph
McLaren Automotive's MP4-12C was just unveiled a few weeks ago, and already the company is taking its first steps to building a U.S. sales network. Today the company announced the appointment of its Regional Director for North America, Anthony Joseph.
The MP4-12C won't be launched until 2011, however, so there's going to be some lead time before sales actually start to take place. Nevertheless, McLaren is keenly aware of how important the U.S. will be to the brand's resurgence in production cars.
"This is such an amazing opportunity to be part of the launch of not just a brand new range of high-tech sports cars, but the launch of a new car company in a region which will be a major market for McLaren Automotive," said Joseph.
The first steps to McLaren's return will be selecting the outlets that will sell the cars. According to Joseph, "There has been significant enthusiasm from a number of existing luxury car retailers throughout North America, and our first challenge is finding those who really buy-in to our evolving business aspirations."
Initially, Joseph will build a team to support a total of 10 dedicated McLaren franchises in the U.S. and Canada. About 15 retailers are planned for Europe.
McLaren Automotive, headed by Ron Dennis, isn't just focused on building the MP4-12C, however. Recently the company revealed it was looking to hire an hybrid powertrain engineer, hinting at a hybrid sports car at the least.
Previous reports have also revealed a total of three models in the works: the MP4-12C, targeted at the Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4; a successor to the F1 supercar; and an entry-level sports car targeted at cars like the Porsche 911 and Audi R8, expected to sit near the $100,000 mark. This last car is the most likely candidate to receive the hybrid powertrain, though nothing has been officially revealed yet.
