Heels & Horsepower Magazine

New Range Rover pricing announced

By H&H Admin

Land Rover has announced pricing for the new Range Rover which will be officially launched in South Africa midway through 2022.

The fifth-generation Range Rover will be available with four, five or seven-seat interiors together with Standard and Long Wheelbase body designs. The new luxury SUV will come in a choice of HSE, Autobiography and flagship SV trim levels, while a unique First Edition will be sold throughout the first year of production. The First Edition is based on the Autobiography and will be available exclusively in a Sunset Gold Satin finish, among a choice of five other exterior colours. 

Three powertrain options will include advanced six- and eight-cylinder engines, including a new Extended Range Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). 

The New Range Rover is the first Land Rover to be powered by a new 4.4-litre V8 engine, badged P530 in reference to its output in horsepower. This engine produces 390kW and 750Nm of torque, and powers the SUV from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds with Dynamic Launch engaged, and to a top speed of 250km/h.

A powerful D350 3.0-litre straight-six turbodiesel produces 257kW and 700Nm of torque, and propels the New Range Rover from 0-100km/h in 6.1s. 

The new Extended Range P510e PHEV combines the inherent refinement of Land Rover’s 375kW in-line six-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine, with a 38.2kWh lithium-ion battery and a 105kW electric motor integrated with the transmission. Together, the powertrain provides up to 113km of near-silent pure-electric driving and with instantaneous electric torque the new P510e accelerates from 0-100km/h in 5.6s.

New Range Rover pricing:

D350 HSE Standard Wheelbase                                  R2,861,000

P530 HSE Standard Wheelbase                                  R3,026,000

D350 Autobiography Standard Wheelbase                R3,310,000

P530 Autobiography Standard Wheelbase                 R3,475,000

P510e Autobiography Standard Wheelbase               R3,527,000

D350 First Edition Standard Wheelbase                     R3,434,000

P530 First Edition Standard Wheelbase                      R3,581,000

P510e First Edition Standard Wheelbase                    R3,582,000

D350 Autobiography Long Wheelbase                       R3,392,000

P530 Autobiography Long Wheelbase                        R3,557,000

D350 First Edition Long Wheelbase                            R3,516,000

P530 First Edition Long Wheelbase                             R3,663,000

D350 Autobiography Long Wheelbase 7-seats           R3,422,000

P530 Autobiography Long Wheelbase 7-seats           R3,587,000

D350 SV Standard Wheelbase                                     R3,857,000

P530 SV Standard Wheelbase                                     R3,920,000

P510e SV Standard Wheelbase                                   R3,962,000

D350 SV Long Wheelbase                                           R4,279,000

P530 SV Long Wheelbase                                           R4,343,000

* Prices include VAT but exclude CO2 tax.

The New Range Rover will be launched in South Africa toward the middle of 2022. All Land Rover vehicles come with standard 5-year/100,000km Land Rover Care Warranty and Maintenance Plans.

February 2022 sales best in almost a year

By H&H Admin

The new vehicle market continued to surge ahead during February, recording its best sales month since March last year.

According to naamsa | the Automotive Business Council, February new vehicle sales grew 18.4% compared to February 2021 to 44,229 units, a performance approaching volumes realised during the second half of 2019. 

“Despite the traditionally short February selling month and in the face of interest rate hikes and fuel price increases, new vehicle sales performed reassuringly well during the month,” says Lebogang Gaoaketse, Head of Marketing and Communication at WesBank. “Consumer demand was strong during February, particularly for new vehicles as opposed to used, borne out by WesBank’s 14.2% increase in finance applications for new vehicles alone.”

That activity was particularly strong on the passenger car dealer floor, sales through that channel growing 27.9% during February, well ahead of market growth. Overall passenger car sales grew 22.4% to 29,563 units with a slightly flatter performance from the rental market this month.

Light Commercial Vehicles were up 9.4% to 12,290 units compared to February last year.

“Although year-on-year growth during February looked inspiring, passenger car sales were actually marginally (463 units) down on January sales,” says Gaoaketse. “Light Commercial Vehicle sales during February, however, were 2,666 units or 27.7% ahead of January, likely as a result of erratic supply continuing to hamper the market.”

The market has further headwinds to face as fuel prices will exceed R21 per litre inland during March and are destined to rise further amidst tensions in Ukraine. Industry could also face additional complications over and above microchips as supply and manufacture is potentially disrupted in the region and Russia. 

“The situation could amplify the divide between consumer and business demand and the market’s already hampered ability to supply,” says Gaoaketse. 

“This increasing amount of pent-up demand may only be balanced by affordability considerations thanks to increased running costs, and household incomes, which remain under pressure.”

It’s a far better situation to be in than weak economic activity and the market is rejoicing thanks to increased activity in sales with the consequent ripple effect throughout the value chain. 

The new vehicle market is already 18.8% up to 85,559 units during the first two months of the year compared to the year-to-date performance of 2021, outrunning many forecasts already made for the market this year.

“This bodes well for the continued recovery of the new vehicle market,” concludes Gaoaketse.