Oxford Cambridge and RSA
Examinations GCENew
BusinessH031/02: The wider
business environment AS Level
with marking scheme
, Oxford Cambridge and RSA
Friday 26 May 2023 – Afternoon
AS Level Business
H031/02 The wider business environment
Resource Booklet
Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes
* 9 0 7 3 9 2 4 4 2 5 *
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use this Resource Booklet to answer the questions in Section B.
• Do not send this Resource Booklet for marking. Keep it in the centre or recycle it.
INFORMATION
• The business described in this Resource Booklet is a real business.
• This document has 4 pages.
ADVICE
• Read this Resource Booklet carefully before you start your answers.
McLaren is known for being one of the world’s most respected high-technology brands.
The McLaren Group includes McLaren Racing, McLaren Automotive and McLaren Applied
Technologies. All of the businesses in the McLaren Group are private companies with limited
liability.
Since its foundation in 1963, McLaren Racing has been a pioneer and innovator in the 5
competitive world of Formula One motor car racing. McLaren’s Formula One team has won
more than 180 races.
Building on its success in Formula One, McLaren formed McLaren Automotive, producing
high-performance sportscars and luxury supercars for the road car owners who demand the
very best. 10
McLaren Applied Technologies uses technology and insight derived from Formula One to
develop products for the motorsport, road car, public transport and health industries.
Despite McLaren Group’s broad business interests, the company’s goal remains singular: to
win in everything they do.
Source: Adapted from https://www.linkedin.com/company/mclaren-group-ltd (accessed on 13/10/20)
Extract B – McLaren Automotive’s medium-term aims
McLaren Automotive’s medium-term aims up to 2025 are known as ‘Track25’. These include: 15
• Launching 18 new road car models by 2025
• Developing sportscar and supercar ranges which are entirely hybrid
• Evaluating new technology to improve the driving experience
• Evaluating new retail markets for its sportscar and supercar ranges
• Increasing production to 6000 cars a year by the end of 2025 20
Source: Adapted from https://cars.mclaren.press/en-us/releases/596 (accessed on 13/10/20)
Extract C – McLaren’s road cars
2019 2018
Vehicle sales 4662 4829
Number of employees involved in production 4469 3798
Sources: Vehicle sales taken from https://investors.mclaren.com/sites/mclaren-ir/files/homepage/
mclaren-group-investor-presentation-fy2019.pdf (accessed on 13/10/20)
Employee numbers taken from https://investors.mclaren.com/sites/mclaren-ir/files/2020-05/mclaren-
group-limited-financial-statements-2019.pdf (accessed on 13/10/20)
Formula One racing was suspended in the early part of 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
Orders for McLaren’s sportscars and supercars also fell. McLaren said it has been “severely
affected” by the changes in economic factors. McLaren says it has worked hard to cut costs
and avoid redundancies, but job losses are inevitable.
McLaren plans to cut more than a quarter of its workforce after a large reduction in its sales 25
revenue and advertising revenue. Since McLaren Automotive operates from a factory in
Woking, Surrey and McLaren Applied Technologies operates in Sheffield, the vast majority
of the redundancies will be in the UK.
“We now have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce,” McLaren Chairman,
Paul Walsh, said in a statement. 30
“This is undoubtedly a challenging time for our company, and particularly our people, but
we plan to emerge as an efficient, sustainable business with a clear course for returning to
growth.”
In addition, McLaren Racing expects to lose about 70 people from its 800-strong workforce.
There is also likely to be a second phase of redundancies once the impact of a sport-wide 35
motor car racing team budget restriction is taken into account. This budget restriction will
have a significant impact on McLaren’s racing team.
Many other motor car racing teams – especially the big ones such as Mercedes, Ferrari and
Red Bull – may also have to make redundancies, but there may be other ways for some big
car companies to survive, for example moving employees to job roles in other parts of the 40
business.
Source: Adapted from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52808927 (accessed on 13/10/20)
Extract E – Marketing at McLaren Automotive
McLaren Automotive’s gleaming production centre is an inviting space for McLaren
customers who come to visit the facility while their car is being built. It is estimated that 60%
to 70% of customers visit the facility.
“They like to talk to our engineers,” Jim Newton, Market Development Director for McLaren 45
Applied Technologies said. “A lot of our buyers are interested in the technology and
engineering of the vehicles as well as what it looks like and how it performs.”
If for some reason a customer does not like a ‘standard’ McLaren, never fear – there are six
million possible options for the cars.
While McLaren does take customer feedback into account as it develops new cars, the 50
starting point is always technology. McLaren wants to build the world’s best car and trusts
there is a market; there are always people who want to buy the world’s best car.
Source: Adapted from https://www.industryweek.com/the-economy/article/21963071/mclarens-
racinginspired-passion-for-performance (accessed on 13/10/20)
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