The people behind Land Rover must be doing something good. Of course, would they have gotten their second sales record in two years globally if they were not? The manufacturer of all wheel drive vehicles has sold 192, 500 vehicles around the world. This is 4 per cent higher than their previous years? sales or an addition of 8,500 vehicles from 2005.



They have achieved this feat globally; in the United States they have increased their sale by 3.5 per cent. This is mainly due to the release of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport which has increased its sales by up to 80 per cent from the previous year. In Russia, another growing market for their 4x4 units, they have increased their sales by 54 per cent than the previous year with the Land Rover Discovery as the top choice of buyers. Their Russian market has been steadily growing for the past 6 years, a testament to the confidence of the public in the performance of the car and its Land Rover parts. An increase in their sales in the Middle East reflects 54 per cent growth and in North Africa, a 43 per cent increase.

Another market the brand is focusing on is the New Zealand market which they are expected to enter in the middle of this year. The Land Rover Range Rover with the TDV8 diesel engine is UK's best selling luxury car, showing just how competitive globally this brand is. This model accounts for 92 per cent of the total sales in the region.

The brand has surely left the question to the reliability of their vehicles behind. And they are definitely back to compete even against Asian all wheel drive vehicles which have, for some time, taken over the European market in off road vehicles.

The company has made this growth on their sales despite not having the Land Rover Freelander for the second half of the year. The next generation Land Rover Freelandeer will be built alongside the Jaguar X-type in Halewood.

All these growth in sales number can only be good news for the Ford Motor Co. which owns the Land Rover brand. They no doubt need figures like these to boost the financial status of the company.

Another piece of positive news coming from Land Rover is its continuing relationship with the Ion Group. For fifteen years, the relationship between them has achieved a number of awards for customer service excellence. Ion is responsible for tactical promotional activity and dealer network support. And another three years more will be added to the relationship of the two companies when Land Rover appointed the Ion Group to take control of its sales management center.