Range Rover roars on
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• Worldwide sales of Range Rovers broke all records in 1988. Sales of the luxury 4x4 workhorse jumped by 18% to 24,185 despite a long strike in the spring which lost production of 3,000 units, British Aerospace subsidiary Land Rover has announced.
The company also halted a long term decline in Land Rover sales — selling 22,515 units, which represents a 9% increase over 1987's performance. The key to success here was accepting that the African market has collapsed and concentrating on up-grading the vehicle for the European market. Land Rover stresses that it still sells 4 x 4s to the Third World, but the resurgence has come in the developed nations.
Land Rover is preparing to start production this year of only its third completely new model since the launch of the original Land Rover 41 years ago; a mid-sized four-wheeldrive vehicle intended to compete with hot-selling Japanese 4X4 leisure vehicles, such as the Suzuki Sjs, the Mitsubishi Shogun and the Isuzu Trooper.
The Range Rover has gone from strength to strength largely because Land Rover has incorporated many of the special features originally fitted only to its American model right across the board. These include electric windows and air conditioning. The turbo diesel Range Rover has sold very strongly in Europe.
The higher sales should lead to the group announcing a sharp increase in profits to at least £30 million before tax and interest in 1988, compared with £22.5 million achieved during the previous year. ID Range Rover's success in the United States may be short-lived, following a US Customs Service ruling that the vehicles will be re-classified as trucks and taxed at 25% instead of the current 2.5%.
Land Rover sold 3,427 premium Range Rovers in the US last year — around 17% of total sales for the marque — at some £20,000 each. The company is saying little in the face of such a severe price increase. "It is too early to comment as the ruling is being considered," said a spokesman.