Automotive start-up Forseven is to merge with McLaren Automotive in a move which could bring further development work and investment to Oxfordshire. The deal, announced on 3 April, brings together two companies that each have the backing of Abu Dhabi investment vehicle CYVN Holdings.
For the past three years, Forseven has been in ‘stealth mode,’ building a team of industry-leading designers, engineers and automotive executives to develop luxury electric car models, from three centres including Bicester, Oxfordshire.
It will now lose the Forseven name and future models will be launched under the McLaren brand, with the aim of competing with luxury cars such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin.
Forseven CEO Nick Collins, who will lead the new venture, told Autocar magazine that the output of its 50-strong design team had been ‘staggering’ over the past 12 months, enhanced through the use of virtual reality and round-the-clock working alongside a team based in Australia.
Forseven has been planning to open a new design centre in Bicester and the new venture looks set to consolidate the area as a base. While McLaren will retain its facilities in Surrey and Yorkshire, Nick Collins has said that he favours Bicester as a central hub that will allow the company to attract a wider talent pool. A manufacturing location has yet to be announced.
The move is strengthened by ties with Chinese automotive company NIO, in which CYVN invested $2.2 billion to acquire a 20% stake in December 2023. Forseven’s development has been accelerated through a technology agreement with NIO, which has a development centre for performance and advanced concept engineering located in Oxford.
Image provided by McLaren Automotive