How desirable are used Land Rover models in the German market?

23 August 2021

Andreas Geilenbruegge, head of valuations and insights at Schwacke (part of Autovista Group), discusses the demand for used Land Rover vehicles in Germany.

Since the Indian conglomerate Tata took over the British automotive legend Land Rover from Ford 13 years ago, a lot has happened.

With the change in ownership, investments have been made, resulting in a much-needed expansion and the complete renewal of the model range. This has been achieved alongside stability in planning and development.

Since 2011, when the Evoque made its sensational debut, Land Rover has really picked up speed. With the addition of the no less remarkable Range Rover Velar, the business achieved more than three times as many sales in Germany in 2017 as at the time of the takeover. However, since Dieselgate, Land Rover’s volumes have gone steadily downhill and petrol and plug-in versions of models have not been able to fill the gap.

Current models show good residual values (RVs) above 50% in the forecast. Only the Range Rover, whose facelift is already four years old, is below that. SUVs, which are used to high RV forecasts, have lost ground in the past 24 months due to the increasingly high unit sales, but are now starting to stabilise.

Forecast retail values in %, Land Rover models with segment-specific optional equipment

The Defender has been resurrected after almost four years since the end of production of its unique predecessor. It has been reinvented, against the challenging backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, to appeal to a more affluent clientele. The concept works well and the Defender is not only selling better than ever before, it even ranks second behind the Evoque in Land Rover’s 2021 registration statistics.

Another much-needed breath of fresh air will soon materialise with the successors to the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Land Rovers will not be fully electric until 2024, when the business’s EMA platform will be introduced, first underpinning the Evoque and Discovery Sport. The Defender is to become the fuel-cell pioneer in the group and offers an alternative to the plug-in versions of the heavier models.