The British luxury brand sold 16,725 Defenders for the quarter ending September 30, up 70 percent on the same period last year. This as they prioritize the large SUV amid the global microchip shortage. Their traditional best-seller, the Range Rover Evoque, was pushed to second place with 12,613 units sold.

All in all, the Defender is now the brand's best-seller for the year-to-date with 50,882 sales, just ahead of the Evoque.

In the Philippines, exclusive distributor All British Cars also reached a milestone, selling their 200th Defender just last month.

The second-generation Defender was launched at the beginning of last year, four years after the original iconic off-roader was axed after a production run of 67 years.

Despite the success, Land Rover rues that they could have sold more Defenders if it had not been for the semiconductor shortage. They revealed that of the 128,000 back orders for various JLR models, 34,000 were for Defenders.

JLR will further expand the Defender’s appeal with the launch of a longer seven-seat version, rumored to be called the D130, by next year.