Land Rover Breaks U.S. Sales Records With High-End Models, Discovery Sport Is Almost Here
2014 was a record-setting year for the Land Rover brand in the United States, and the brand accomplished this feat even though the majority of Land Rover sales were generated by upper-crust Range Rover vehicles.
With the Discovery Sport set to arrive shortly in place of the oft-rejected LR2 (née Freelander), the potential for greater growth at the Land Rover brand becomes much more apparent.
• 51,465 Land Rovers sold in America in 2014
• Two top tier models account for six out of every ten Land Rover sales
• Discovery Sport expected to be volume model
60% of Land Rover sales in the U.S. in 2014 were produced by the Range Rover Sport (base price: $63,350) and Range Rover (base price: $83,495). The Range Rover Evoque, a very premium-priced small luxury utility, was the brand’s third-ranked vehicle. The Evoque was responsible for nearly a quarter of all Land Rover sales, more than the LR2 and LR4 combined.
Combined sales of the Range Rover trio rose 9% to 43,167. Land Rover sold more Range Rover Sports than at any time since 2006, its first full year on sale. Range Rover sales rose to a nine-year high. Range Rover Evoque volume increased for the third consecutive year. 34,990 Evoques have been sold since the nameplate went on sale in the U.S. early in the fourth-quarter of 2011.
Regardless of status – luxury, premium, upmarket, volume, mainstream, niche – it’s very unusual to see a brand ignited by its most costly models. At BMW, for example, the brand’s two entry-level car lines and two entry-level utilities account for 61% of U.S. sales.
Look at Mazda on the opposite side of the coin: only 23% of its sales are produced by its flagship sedan and top-tier crossover, the 6 and CX-9. At Audi, it’s the A3, A4, Q3, and Q5 that do the heavy lifting (to the tune of 59% of all Audi USA sales), not the A6, A7, A8, R8, and Q7, which account for only 31% of Audi sales.
Land Rover20142013%ChangeRange Rover Sport17,89715,97612.0%Range Rover12,83012,2215.0%Range Rover Evoque12,44011,4059.1%LR44,6797,093-34.0%LR23,6193,3159.2%————Land Rover Total51,46550,0102.9%Thus, if Land Rover’s top-tier Range Rover models continue to steadily increase their popularity but are finally joined by an entry-level variant that bears a traditional portion of the burden, Land Rover’s record-setting sales accumulation is likely to expand at a much faster pace than it did in 2014.
Overall new vehicle sales rose 6% and SUV/crossover sales were up 12%. Land Rover, which did indeed sell more SUVs than at any time in its history, only posted a 3% year-over-year improvement. Even if Discovery Sport sales begin at mid-pack levels in the small luxury utility vehicle arena – 20,000 annual U.S. sales, for instance – and the brand’s other models failed to increase their volume, Land Rover could still potentially sell more than 65,000 vehicles in 2015. Who knows, diesel engines might help, too.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
More by Timothy Cain
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- Tassos NEVER. All season tires are perfectly adequate here in the Snowbelt MI. EVEN if none of my cars have FWD or AWD or 4WD but the most challenging of all, RWD, as all REAL cars should.
- Gray Here in Washington state they want to pass a law dictating what tires you can buy or not. They want to push economy tires in a northern state full of rain and snow. Everything in my driveway wears all terrains. I'm not giving that up for an up to 3 percent difference.
- 1995 SC I remember when Elon could do no wrong. Then we learned his politics and he can now do no right. And we is SpaceX always left out of his list of companies?
- Steve Biro I’ll try one of these Tesla driverless taxis after Elon takes one to and from work each and every day for five years. Either he’ll prove to me they are safe… or he’ll be dead. Think he’ll be willing to try it?
- Theflyersfan After the first hard frost or freeze - if the 10 day forecast looks like winter is coming - that's when the winter tires go on. You can call me a convert to the summer performance tire and winter tire car owner. I like the feel of the tires that are meant to be used in that season, and winter tires make all of the difference in snowy conditions. Plus, how many crazy expensive Porsches and Land Rovers do we see crashed out after the first snow because there's a chance that the owner still kept their summer tires on. "But...but...but I have all wheel drive!!!" Yes, so all four tires that now have zero grip can move in unison together.
Comments
Join the conversation
@Carilloskis, I don't know if the US gets the 3 litre Lion V6 diesel Disco. Since you are more or less a Ford man the Disco diesel is a Ford engine. In all honesty they are a better off roader than the Raptor. Especially with day to day living. It's FE will be superior enough to warrant the cost of the diesel as well. The Raptor might be quicker across sand dunes and a wide open desert track, but most any other 4x4 like the Disco will devour it in most any other off road situation. Have a read; http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-reviews/land-rover-discovery-4-sdv6-hse-review-12638#.VM2JSLvTnmQ
Big Al the 3l diesel rr and rr sport are supposed to come to the U.S. in the fall as 2016 model year. Lr also makes a hybrid version of the rr and rr sport paired with the 3l tdi it's good for 44mpg imperial. They haven't announced that drive train in the us yet. I know the tdi is a good engine but I want the ridiculously powerful 5.0 supercharged jag v8 (also made by ford in the uk)