Land Rover winning sales in Asia

23 October 2003: After a few years of uncertainty under different owners sales are picking up in Japan for Land Rover.

In fact they have more than doubled since 2000, said managing director Matthew Taylor at the Tokyo Motor Show.

"We have had to do a certain amount of re-structuring and we are now getting some rewards for it," he added.

Sales stalled first under Rover ownership then after BMW sold off the famous off-road marque to Ford. There were problems with dealerships which had been taken on under the previous owners.

"We are now plugging into the other Ford brands, particularly Jaguar and Volvo, our preferred partners globally," added Taylor. "This means we can re-establish the brand and position it in the right way."

From 1,200 sales three years ago Land Rover will grow to 3,000 in Japan this year, mainly Range Rover and Discovery.

Land Rover could be starting production in China at some point in the future Taylor added. "We have to look at all the markets in that region and plan how we move forward. Currently Taiwan, Thailand and China are where we anticipate good growth. Beyond that we could be looking at South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines."

Land Rover started assembling Freelander models in Thailand last year.

©2003 irishcar.com