McLaren Automotive has announced an investment of around £500 million to expand its operations in the United Kingdom, in a programme expected to create 1,000 jobs by 2032. The announcement was published on 16 September 2026 by the UK government, with the Prime Minister’s Office, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and First Secretary of State Louise Haigh.

According to the government, part of the money will expand McLaren’s research, development and production site in South Yorkshire. The company also plans to open a new vehicle production facility in the UK. The 1,000 posts are a target for the period through 2032, including in Woking and South Yorkshire, and are not jobs already created.

Ministers say the investment could support up to 3,000 additional jobs across the automotive industry and supply chain. That figure is an estimate of wider sector impact, not a contractual hiring commitment.

The announcement is framed within Britain’s reindustrialisation strategy and a broader programme of public support for the car industry. The government says around £4 billion is being directed towards the wider automotive sector through 2035. Reynolds and Haigh were due to visit the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking on the same day.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said McLaren is keeping the design, engineering and manufacture of its future cars in Britain and that the investment will create high-quality apprenticeships and jobs. Nick Collins, chief executive of McLaren Group Holdings and McLaren Automotive, said the programme invests in the future of McLaren and in UK advanced manufacturing, to develop the next generation of cars.

The government statement also notes plans to manufacture future engines in-house for the first time and to expand the product range with a performance SUV. The commitment sits alongside a new design and innovation centre in Bicester and an engineering, testing and vehicle-development site at MIRA in the Midlands.

For the manufacturer, the move strengthens its British industrial base at a time of electrification, digital technologies, high costs and international competition. The official announcement does not give a precise timetable for the new vehicle plant or a site-by-site breakdown of the £500 million.

Image: Colin Smith, Geograph Britain and Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0. McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, not a photograph from the ministerial visit. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Boost for UK auto sector as McLaren unleashes £500m investment to help reindustrialise Britain (GOV.UK, 16 September 2026).