Thread: Land Rover Australia sales overtake Jeep

In an interesting convergence of two diametrically-opposed line graphs, Land Rover is currently selling more vehicles in Australia than Jeep, while it's also selling more SUVs than Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the luxury market.Between January and March, Land Rover sold 4093 units in Australia, up 49.8 per cent. Jeep, meanwhile, sold 3787, down 50.1 per cent. At the same time in 2015, Jeep's sales were triple Land Rover's ? a big shift inside 12 months.Land Rover's year-to-date (YTD) sales are powering along on the back of the Discovery Sport, which is second in its segment behind only the new Mercedes-Benz GLC, and the owner of 16.3 per cent market share.The aged but clearly still vital Discovery has managed 832 sales, holding steady, while the Range Rover Sport (780, almost double the Porsche Cayenne) and Evoque (738) models are strong.



Another piece in the puzzle was the late rush to buy up the final run of Defenders before that car's production ended, with 359 sales YTD, more than double last year's tally over the same period.In a sign of success for Land Rover, it's the 17th most popular brand in Australia this year, ahead of Renault and Lexus, the latter of which it has almost doubled. Land Rover Australia has also sold more SUVs than Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. And even Kia.Land Rover's sales success this year is echoed by Jaguar, which is the second half of the global Jaguar Land Rover brand. Jaguar? sales are up 173.1 per cent to 680 units, making it the market's second-fastest growing brand on percentage terms.Land Rover's strong sales are the opposite of Jeep Australia, which continues to adjust after it enjoyed a stratospheric sales rise for a few years earlier in the decade. Of key concern is the unfavourable exchange rate, which has hurt its pricing.



Grand Cherokee sales total 2086 this year, down 37.5 per cent. This is over a 2015 figure that was itself down almost 20 per cent over 2014. Cherokee sales of 543 are also down 77.6 per cent over Jan-Mar 2015, and the Renegade with 276 sales so far this year has only gathered 1.1 per cent market share.Wrangler sales of 331 are down 39 per cent, while the soon-to-be-replaced Compass (338, down 58.2 per cent) and Patriot (213, down 55.1 per cent) twins are also well down.We spoke to the global head of Jeep, Mike Manley, in New York a few weeks ago with other Australian media, and he chalked up Jeep's performance here to currency issues.?I think we've got huge headwinds in terms of the currency [exchange],? he said.



?No one likes to give up share, but when you've got the exchange headwinds that we've got, the most appropriate thing is to protect our dealers and protect our business,? he said of the brand's recent price rises that have also affected the Fiat and Chrysler brands.It's not all doom and gloom, though. Jeep Australia will soon have a brand new compact SUV replacement for the Compass and Patriot*(spied above), as well as a ute version of the next-generation Wrangler that should prove a hit with commercial buyers.

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Originally Posted by incisor

When Jeep's bad press kicked in?

Yes, they've had a bit of that.
JLR seem to be on fire at the moment, Jaguar XE is selling well against the Mercedes C Type & Audi etc, long waiting lists for Evoque & Disco, Disco Sport etc, plus Disco 4 & R.R. are still going out the door.
I've visited ULR recently, Service, workshop/P.D. etc are flat out, and when one goes to the sales area, staff are usually on the phone or talking to someone.
A JLR Dealership would be a good place to be at the moment, I reckon.
Pickles.