Employees at the Halewood car plant in Liverpool are celebrating a special anniversary. The first ever Land Rover Freelander 2 rolled off the production lines in front of the workforce and journalists from across the world a year ago.

The model was launched in the UK in December and all other markets in early 2007 and has proved to be a huge success. Freelander 2 has attracted extensive acclaim from both the media and customers for its premium design, excellent on and off-road performance and high levels of build quality and customer satisfaction. Over the past year, Freelander 2 has picked up seven major awards including Top Gear ‘SUV of the Year’ and What Car? ‘Best Compact 4×4′ in recognition of these acheivements.

Halewood’s new model has taken all 147 global markets by storm and is Land Rover’s best selling product. The company has sold more than 167,000 cars to date and is in looks set to break through the 200,000 car barrier for the first time thanks to high demand for Freelander 2 and the rest of the product range including Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. In September, Land Rover achieved its best ever sales month in its history and sold 26,000 cars around the world - 34% up on September last year.

Thomas Klein, Halewood Operations Director said “The Freelander 2 is a real hit with customers across the world, which is excellent news for the plant. Early customer feedback from USA and UK shows that Freelander 2 has delivered excellent levels of quality and customer satisfaction. The fact that Freelander 2 has proved such a success demonstrates how the Halewood team’s commitment to delivering excellent build quality and customer satisfaction, in partnership with Land Rover’s design and engineering expertise, are a winning combination.”