Land Rover sold 47,147 vehicles in the UK in 2004, beating the previous year's record by 128 units in a year of increasing competition in the 4x4 sector.

Leading the charge in 2004 was the Discovery range, including the previous generation model and the recently launched award-winning Discovery 3. The previous model remarkably increased its sales in its final year of life, leading the company to run out of stock in October – a month before the all-new Discovery 3 arrived at dealerships.

In its first full month of sales, the Discovery 3 took 10% of the entire 4x4 sector in December with 1,089 models sold (2,349 Discovery 3s sold in total during 2004) – maintaining its position as the best-selling large 4x4 in the UK, a tag that looks set to continue with an order bank well into March 2005.

Hot on the heels of the Discovery is the Freelander, which beat 2003's sales figure with 22,506 vehicles sold, maintaining its position as the best selling of all 4x4s in the UK. The Range Rover, now almost three years old, continued its sales success with 6,484 sold in 2004, which places it at the top of the UK luxury vehicle sector with a 20% share of the segment comprising vehicles priced at £45,000 and over.

On the corporate sales (fleet) side of the business, Land Rover has also enjoyed a very successful year, with a record 7,509 vehicles sold to companies. All models in the range increased their sales through the year, with the Freelander leading the way as the best-selling 4x4 in the corporate sector, with three years' free servicing and very competitive whole-life costs now making it an even more appealing alternative to typical fleet choices.

Land Rover UK managing director, Phil Popham, said: "Last year, the 4x4 and luxury sectors became increasingly competitive and challenging with a whole host of exciting new entrants to the market, so to achieve yet another sales record in the UK is extremely satisfying. To remain the market leader in this climate takes some doing, but our results speak for themselves, with the Freelander increasing its market share in the most challenging part of the sector, Discovery maintaining its position as the best selling of the large 4x4s, and the Range Rover continuing as the undisputed king of ultimate luxury motoring."

Next week, Land Rover attends the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where the Range Rover for 2006 and Range Rover Sport make their respective world debuts. Both vehicles go on sale from mid-2005, and already, over 1,000 deposits have been taken for the Range Rover Sport, before any customers have even seen the vehicle in the metal.