Land Rover Reports Year End Sales
5 January 1998
Land Rover Sets New Record in 1997LANHAM, Md., Jan. 5 -- Land Rover North America, Inc. broke its previous full-year retail record in 1997, selling 23,826 vehicles, 2.8 percent ahead of the 1996 total of 23,182. 1997 marked the sixth year in a row that Land Rover North America has set a sales record. Charles R. Hughes, president, Land Rover North America, said, "1997 was an exciting year for all of us. Not only did we set another sales record, we also moved into a new corporate headquarters, created a new campus for Land Rover University, our retail training facility, and opened our 65th Land Rover Centre." Of LRNA's 114 Retailers, 65 are now Land Rover Centres, the critically acclaimed retail outlets which offer sport-utility buyers a knowledgeable sales staff, superior customer service, factory-trained technical support and expert four-wheel drive instruction, all in a comfortable relaxed setting. Other highlights of 1997 include the opening of the first Land Rover Driving School, in Manchester, Vermont, and the creation of the Land Rover Journal, a new publication that masterfully combines a traditional sales brochure with a lifestyle magazine. The Journal, which will be published twice annually, is delivered to every current Land Rover owner and is available at each Land Rover retail outlet. In 1998, Land Rover will mark its 50th Anniversary. The first Land Rover was designed by the brothers Maurice and Spencer Wilks, Managing Director and Chief Engineer of the Rover Company, in the late 1940s. The four-cylinder, 50-horsepower Land Rover was intended to be a stop-gap vehicle for Rover's new Solihull, England, factory, using as little sheet steel as possible in the era of post-war shortages. Within a year it was outselling Rover cars, and production has steadily increased every year since. SALES SUMMARY DECEMBER '97 DECEMBER '96 Y-T-D '97 Y-T-D '96 2,526 (+4.8%) 2,410 23,826 (+2.8%) 23,182 Range Rover 925(a) 905(b) 6,621 7,085 Defender 90 98 176 2,501 606 Discovery 1,503 1,329 14,704 15,491 (a) Includes 4.6 HSE and 4.0 SE (b) Includes 4.6 HSE, 4.0 SE and '95 Classic Land Rover North America, Inc. is a member of the Rover Group of Companies, importing vehicles manufactured by Land Rover, Solihull, England. The Rover Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG. SOURCE Land Rover North America, Inc.