Freelander fleet sales set to rise

FLEET sales of Land Rover's best-selling Freelander model are set to increase as the initial one-year honeymoon period for the manufacturer's trend-setting model comes to an end. In its first year on sale, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures show the Freelander has become the legendary 4x4 marque's best-selling model in the first six months of this year with 8,814 vehicles sold compared to 7,720 Discoverys and Range Rovers.

About 23,000 Freelanders are expected to be sold in the UK this year, with the majority being range-topping five-door high-spec models. While fewer than 1,000 of those models have so far been bought by fleets, managing director Peter Kinnaird says significant numbers have been bought with corporate money and gone into the officially unmeasured sub-25 fleet sector.

Kinnaird calculates that about 50% of Freelanders have been bought by companies. Land Rover expects 1999 Freelander sales to reach about 26,000 units, with lower specced models becoming more popular and fleet penetration increasing.