Land Rover Freelander 2 - 300k now sold
Land Rover has revealed that the 300,000th Freelander 2 has now been built despite an ageing model and the launch of the Evoque.
It’s almost exactly two years since we reported that the Land Rover Freelander 2 had chalked up sales of 200,000 in its first three years (and 250k in March last year), and here we are two years later reporting sales hitting the 300,000 mark. Which is impressive.
What makes the figures more impressive is that they’ve been achieved despite the launch of the Range Rover Evoque – which is based on the Freelander 2’s platform – and the Freelander 2 getting close to the end of its shelf life.
But to Land Rover’s credit they haven’t just let the Freelander 2 soldier on without help in the last two years. We’ve had the extra power boost we called for with the introduction of the more powerful SD4, a bit of a nip and tuck and the introduction of the FWD Freelander 2, all designed to increase the appeal of Land Rover’s baby and get it on to the radar of more car buyers – fleet and personal.
What is also interesting is that the launch of the Evoque has had no measurable impact on Freelander 2 sales. Land Rover say that up to 90 per cent of Evoque buyers in the UK are new to the brand, and many of those buying an Evoque who already have a Land Rover product are adding the Evoque to their garage rather than trading over; an Evoque for ‘er indoors sounds like the pattern.
Land Rover’s Halewood Operation Director, Richard Else, said:
I’d like to congratulate the Halewood team for reaching this superb milestone and also sustaining the highest quality standards on Freelander 2, during the Range Rover Evoque launch period. Freelander was Land Rover’s biggest selling model last year retailing around 52,000 units globally.
Will we be marking 400,000 Freelander 2 sales in 2014? Probably not – the Freelander 2 will almost certainly have bitten the dust by then. But it’s been a much better Land Rover than many think.
Land Rover Freelander 2 SD4 HSE Photos
G Lewis says
Hi Team
Looks like a preview (above) of the Freelander 3 ?
Why have we Brits got to keep changing a good thing? – If the Freelander 2 is doing so well, then keep it going another year or two. Look how long the BMC Mini went on for AND the VW Beetle, simply because of the length of time the concepts were left ‘unaltered’. This gave existing owners more pride in their existing vehicles which weren’t going ‘out of fashion’ and thus created an extended market worldwide.
Having bought a new Freelander 2 last year makes me feel that if it becomes ‘old hat’ in 2014, I’ll ditch it and go back to a BMW 3 Series which have remained ‘new looking’ over the past few incarnations.
I hate the looks of the Evoque – everyone agrees that it looks like a tank fell onto its rear end, crushing the roof in its path. As a designer myself, I would have at least left an extra 50mm on its external height. The proportions are abysmal.
Happy New Year.