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North American Land Rover Clubs in 2024

Updated: Apr 14

An important aspect of land rover ownership for many is engaging with others who share a similar passion for the vehicles. Seeing the varied models of rovers that people in your region drive is fun and inspiring. Sharing tales of mechanical misfortune and inspiring trips fuels the dreams and aspirations of your next rover adventure. Meeting for on- or off-road adventures builds camaraderie and memories. Like most hobbies, rover ownership has its own language and history and unless you are one of the lucky few who spends your days around rovers for a living you probably have few people with which to discuss rovers before

becoming tiresome to others! Rover clubs are the perfect outlet to share your passion.

In Ohio we have many land rover enthusiasts spread out over the nearly 41,000 square miles of the state. Online forums and groups provide a way of connecting daily with like-minded individuals despite distance and schedules. As an enthusiast I am excited to see many rovers passing by daily, however; most rovers pass without so much as a wave. This led me to wonder: How many Land Rover owners are also enthusiasts?

This question is likely impossible to answer, yet I donned my sleuthing cap and with the aid of the internet I attempted to find out. My approach to this topic is amateur at best and I acknowledge the lack of experience and lack of insider information a real

automotive journalist would bring you. Regardless, hopefully this information may be of some interest to you!


Land Rover Sales

Publicly reported numbers for new Land Rover vehicle sales can be found as far back as 2005 and extend through the first quarter of 2024. In total, 1,123,480 new Land Rovers have been sold in the US since 2005(1).The US saw the highest number of annual new vehicle sales in 2019 with 94,736 vehicles sold(2). 2019 was the year before the new Defender was sold in North America (and the year before the pandemic). Annual sales have slightly declined but remained strong since the peak in 2019. 66,039 new vehicles were sold last year in 2023. The new Defender sales have been solid in the US with 70,831 Defenders sold since its launch in mid 2020. Of note, the best seller for Land Rover North America has been the Range Rover Sport which has been the LRNA top

seller in the US market since 2006.

How many of the 1.1 million new rovers sold since 2005 are still on the road and how many of those vehicles are in the hands of enthusiasts? Vehicles by and large have a life span which can be quite short for poorly treated (and poorly constructed) vehicles. Estimates on the average length of ownership for new cars in the US has increased from 8 years to 12.5 years since the pandemic (3). The fallout from the pandemic has led to longer ownership times as people have driven less during those years, and new cars were harder to come by. Additionally, the cost of new cars had increased roughly 22% from before the

pandemic to spring 2023. Used car prices increased even more during that same time with data showing prices reached over 40% of their pre-2020 prices (4). When combining the price increases for the vehicle with increased finance interest rates, increased cost of insurance, and the increased cost of fuel, owners are holding on to their cars for longer before returning to the dealership for a new car. Not unexpectedly, I don’t have an answer to how many of the 1.1 million rovers are still on the road. I was unable to find any available public vehicle registration records nor find any publicly available insurance provider data based on vehicle make or model.

After 2005 many of the Land Rovers sold appealed to a different demographic then the historical utilitarian working vehicle of the 1950s-1980s and the explorer/off- roader of the 1990s and early 2000s. In North America many of the newer models appeal more to a lifestyle(5) customer as evidenced by several models making low range transfer cases an option instead of a standard feature. The off-road oriented market changed in mid 2020 with the launch of the new Defender, with some increased efforts made by Land Rover to exhibit and demonstrate the new Defender’s off-road abilities. Since the new Defender’s arrival in the North American market 78,197 vehicles have been sold(5) making up nearly 24% of the 328,047 total new Land Rover vehicles sold in that time span. One would assume the defender customer is more likely to seek out other enthusiasts and off-road adventures, however, an adage comes to mind about rovers not seeing the trail until the second or third owner. Assuming some owners of the new defender signed lease agreements, three years has finally arrived for many. This may indicate more Defender owners are on the horizon willing to engage with the enthusiast community (and muddy up their trucks!).


Enthusiasts Unite!


If there is a barometer for land rover enthusiasm, local rover club participation is a good gage of enthusiast activity. I scoured the internet for active clubs in North America. Facebook proved a key resource to finding active clubs, membership numbers, and some information on club date beginnings. Another fantastic resource on North American clubs including historical information on past clubs is found on Dixon Kenner’s page LRFAQ.org(6). The list of rover clubs in North America was last updated in 2011. In some ways, this article is a companion to Kenner’s work. If you’re at all interested in the history of clubs from days gone by, looking at his webpage is fascinating.

From the combined sources on the internet, I found fifty-three active Land Rover enthusiasts club in North America not counting ANARC (Association of North American Rover Clubs). Forty-seven clubs are in the US and six in Canada (Table 1). When you add up the number of members/followers from each of the groups on Facebook or Instagram the total is 46,182 individuals. Thirty-two states and four provinces are fortunate to have at least one club while some states/provinces have multiple. The included table has the best data I could find. Some established dates are missing. Some dates were pulled from the Facebook group creation date when the original establishment date could not be determined.

There are pitfalls in trying to quantify the number of rover enthusiasts. First, what is a Rover enthusiast? A simple definition is a person very interested in a topic. That definition leaves a lot of room for interpretation and a lot of room to engage with people of different interest levels. The second pitfall in quantifying enthusiasts is the(6) methodology of using clubs to gage interest. What makes a car club? In the digital age many clubs exist digitally with people who periodically come together. The digital space has no geographical boundaries allowing people to join multiple groups across the continent. The answer to what

makes a car club will depend on who you ask. A third pitfall with quantifying enthusiasts is the quality of the data. The numbers come from Facebook and Instagram membership/follower numbers. Many Facebook club sites are public and do not require enthusiasts to be a member which may leave some people uncounted. Further confounding the data are the individuals who may be in more than one club and being counted more than once.

I attempted to find other sources of data for enthusiast engagement using the data from other publications. I was unable to find the number of magazine subscriptions of the dearly missed Alloy + Grit magazine. The always faithful and much anticipated Rover North’s magazine and catalog Rover Magazine comes quarterly thanks to the hard work of Jeff Aronson and staff; however, circulation numbers are proprietary and not released to the public.

This 2024 list of active clubs is comprised of legendary groups that have withstood the tests of time. Six long enduring clubs include Ottawa Valley Land Rover Club, Rover Landers of British Columbia, Maritime Organization of Rover Enthusiasts (MORE), Pacific Coast Land Rover Club, Rovers Owners Association of Virginia (ROAV), and Minnesota Land Rovers, all of which can trace their roots back to the 1970s and 1980s. The next wave of clubs formed in the 1990s and 2000s are celebrating their 20’s and 30’s as clubs. We’ve also seen the rise of new clubs in the last year including this club (Cuyahoga Valley Land Rover Club), Smokey Mountain Land Rover Club, and SF Bay Land Rover Club.

When you search through Kenner’s list from 2011 you will find a list of forty-five active clubs at the time. Of those forty-five, seventeen no longer exist, at least in the form noted in 2011 (Table 2). While some have disbanded, it is highly likely many of these evolved into other clubs that are currently active.

Another aspect of enthusiast involvement not to be overlooked in 2024 is the renewed energy by several dedicated people at ANARC. After the well-attended 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee in Greek Peak, NY the ANARC team has worked even harder to unite Land Rover enthusiasts and support regional club events. It is important to note that the energy devoted to clubs and meet ups is largely amateur driven with some rover related industry support despite very little Land Rover North America support(7) either from corporate or local dealerships.


Conclusion


The way enthusiasts engage with their local clubs has changed since the 1970s. Club newsletters, initially on paper then on email, gave way to online forums in the 90’s and media further expanded the options for engagement. Overall, the digital world has proven beneficial to rover enthusiasts allowing people to engage from home with others regardless of geography and without delay. Real time questions can be addressed. Photos and videos can be shared with a large audience. Connections can be made when local options may not exist. Yet despite, the ease of connecting online, many seasoned enthusiasts note that the internet has changed the way the local community interacts at the club level. What hasn’t changed however is the desire to meet up and drive rovers with others who want to do the same.

I set out to survey the Land Rover enthusiasts’ landscape of North America in 2024. Unfortunately, I’m not any closer to knowing how many of the 1.1 million rovers are still on the road and in the hands of enthusiasts. I do know however that many enthusiasts haven’t limited themselves to only one rover!

In summary, I’m thrilled to report that 2024 is notable for fifty-three active clubs in North America, eight more than the forty-five listed by Kenner in 2011. Most of the old classic clubs still exist and many new ones have blossomed. Although several clubs have disbanded, North America has gained more rover enthusiasts clubs than it has lost in the past 13 years. Although my methods for research haven’t been full proof, the fifty-three active North American clubs and the over 46,000 enthusiasts ensure a solid footing for rover fans for decades to come. I look forward to the continued engagement of rover owners as well as welcoming new members with newer JLR vehicles (as soon as they’re off lease!)


References


Note: A personal thanks to Mr. Dixon Kenner for his input.










 
 
 

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