Land Rover’s UK sales for October 2009 have risen for the third consecutive month in a row.

Land Rover sold a total of 2855 units in October 2009 and 28,042 year to date. This is 89% better than October 2008. All of the models saw a rise in sales with Defender up 25%, Freelander 2 up 55%, Discovery up 112%, Range Rover Sport up 210% and Range Rover up 43%.

John Edwards, managing director, Land Rover UK commented: “It’s great to see the market up over 30% and we’re excited to achieve an 89% rise in October versus last year. It demonstrates what an outstanding success the new 2010 model year vehicles have been and proves the importance of having new products in an ever competitive market.”

Land Rover currently sells in over 170 markets around the world. The UK is currently Land Rover’s largest market.

By Mike Koch
Why must all my most memorable Land Rover weekend experiences begin with an alarm clock blaring in my ear at some ungodly hour? It really shouldn’t surprise me at this point. After getting myself together, I met up with some co-workers from Rovers North at the Pour House in South Burlington, VT for one of the greasiest –yet tasty - breakfasts in recent memory. Our group of four, Les Parker, Steve Haskell, Matt Martin and I loaded our larded-up selves into the vehicle and pointed it south down Route 7 towards Manchester, VT. Our destination: the Land Rover Experience Driving School at the posh Equinox resort, about 100 miles south of Westford, VT. Just south of Rutland, VT, we met up our fifth teammate from Rovers North, Calef Letorney, our specialist in Waxoyl products.

As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Land Rover is donating 60 vehicles to the British Red Cross Society and its sister national societies around the world. The vehicles were officially handed over to the President of the Red Cross, HRH The Prince of Wales, during a garden party at Buckingham Palace. In an unprecedented move, the vehicles, a mixture of Defender, Discovery and Freelander models, were arranged in the form of the Red Cross flag in the quadrangle of the palace.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Royal Charter being granted to The British Red Cross by HM King Edward VII. The two landmark anniversaries provide an ideal opportunity to celebrate and recognise the unstinting work of Red Cross volunteers, staff and supporters, as well as the remarkable contribution Land Rover has made to the global aid agency requirement for vehicles over the past 60 years. (…)

Land Rover today officially received two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise at its Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire.
Land Rover received one award for International Trade for increasing export sales by 52% to nearly £4 billion a year, an increase of £1.3 billion in three years. It also won an award for Innovation for the patented Terrain Response System that sets up the vehicle’s engine response and traction to maximise performance on all surfaces. It is the electronic equivalent of having an expert instructor next to the driver.
Presenting the awards on behalf of HM The Queen, HM Lord Lieutenant for Warwickshire, Mr Martin Dunne, described winning not one but two awards as “remarkable” and said the only previous occasion he had presented two awards at one time was to Land Rover in 2001.
He added, “This is a mark of recognition for something quite special by a team and not by one individual and there is a very strong team spirit here. (…)

Jaguar Land Rover today announced the opening of its new industry-leading ‘Virtual Reality Centre’ at the Design and Engineering Centre in Gaydon.
The ’state-of-the-art’ design facility draws on advanced audio visual technologies with the projection power of the world’s highest resolution projectors to significantly speed up product development cycles following an investment of £2million.
Engineers and designers are able to see and interact with life-size, three-dimensional models of vehicles and components. The system reduces the need for physical prototypes, saving both time and money.

The most advanced facility of its kind in the world, Jaguar Land Rover’s ground-breaking four-walled centre is a complete turn-key solution using cutting-edge projection technology, advanced motion tracking of the user’s head and hands and is driven by advanced virtual reality software. (…)

Tata Motors today acquired the Jaguar Land Rover businesses from Ford Motor Company for a net consideration of US $2.3 billion, as announced on March 26, in an all-cash transaction. Ford has contributed about US $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans.
Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, was present at the handing over ceremony at the head quarters of Jaguar Land Rover at Gaydon in the UK along with Mr. Don Leclair, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ford Motor Company, and Mr. Lewis Booth, Executive Vice President of Ford Motor Company, who has responsibility for Ford of Europe, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Tata said, “This is a momentous time for all of us at Tata Motors. Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects. We are looking forward to extending our full support to the Jaguar Land Rover team to realise their competitive potential. (…)

The world’s largest deserts, the Gobi, makes Mongolia a natural fit with Land Rover’s G4 Challenge. Photo: Land Rover UK
The Finals of Land Rover’s ultimate global adventure, the Land Rover G4 Challenge, will take place during 2009 in the most sparsely populated independent country on the planet – Mongolia. A blend of terrain offering arid steppes, mountains and the extreme climate of one of the world’s largest deserts, the Gobi, makes Mongolia a natural fit with Land Rover’s G4 Challenge.

Land Rover Defender 110 ready in Mongolia. Photo: Land Rover UK
The Challenge programme kicked off in September 2007 when the competition was announced at Frankfurt Motor Show. Since then the recce teams have been exploring the toughest terrain in Asia to find a suitably demanding environment to stage the culmination of the competition in 2009. (…)

Land Rover LRX Concept and the first ever Land Rover pilot production vehicle (known as ‘Huey’), built in 1948. Photo: Land Rover UK
Gaydon, 30 April 2008 – 60 years ago today, a motoring icon made its public debut, when the original Land Rover was shown at a motor show in Amsterdam, on April 30, 1948. The current Defender is clearly descended from that first vehicle, now known as a Series 1. Extraordinarily, they even share a couple of original parts, an oil filler plug and a cleat for tying down the canvas roof. But the rest of the vehicle technology has moved on considerably.

Land Rover LRX Concept and the first ever Land Rover pilot production vehicle (known as ‘Huey’), built in 1948. Photo: Land Rover UK
Today, Land Rover goes from strength-to-strength, with a five-model line-up headed by the Range Rover, and record global sales of over 226,000 vehicles in 2007.
The company recently received an early birthday present, in the form of two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. (…)