2022 Range Rover Sport: Why Australia can't get enough of the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE rival - literally

The Range Rover Sport is enjoying a good year, taking the fight to the German trio of the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE that typically dominate the large luxury SUV segment.

While all carmakers were hit by supply problems during 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the British brand was particularly impacted due to the early lockdown in the UK – its manufacturing home.

Land Rover has bounced back in the first half of 2021 though, with the Range Rover Sport luxury SUV finishing August on 1319 units, up 15.7 per cent on its 2020 sales record.

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That also sees it outselling the Audi Q7 and locked in a title contest with the Land Rover Defender and Lexus RX for third place in the large SUV over $70,000 segment; behind only the Mercedes-Benz GLE and BMW X5.

However, Land Rover Australia, like most brands, is expecting the semi-conductor shortage to impact supply in the future.

A Land Rover Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide that the brand is delighted with how well the Range Rover Sport is performing this year, but indicated the pandemic could change the situation.

"Like other automotive manufacturers, we are currently experiencing some COVID-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availabilkity of semi-conductors," they said.

One of the reasons luxury brands like Land Rover are particularly impacted is the number of semi-conductors used for each model.

Industry analysts have suggested the semi-conductor shortage is expected to drag into 2022, so it’s unclear when full production will resume for most brands.

For reference, the Range Rover Sport line-up kicks off in Australia at $115,506 before on-road costs for the 183kW/600Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel-powered D250 SE.

The range features 14 variants, extending to the $275,927 P575 SVR Carbon Edition powered by a 423kW/700Nm 5.0-litre supercharged petrol V8.