{"id":66012,"date":"2026-08-17T03:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T03:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/66012\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T03:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T03:47:10","slug":"a-cheaper-us-defender-could-ride-on-jeep-bones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/66012\/","title":{"rendered":"A Cheaper US Defender Could Ride On Jeep Bones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n New Defender-branded vehicles may use Stellantis facilities and hardware to target America\u2019s off-road market <\/p>\n

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JLR plans new U.S.-specific Defender models with Stellantis.<\/p>\n

Deal could put Defender vehicles on Jeep-adjacent hardware.<\/p>\n

Tariffs and currency exposure are driving the strategy.<\/p>\n

Jaguar Land Rover wants to build cars in America<\/a>. The automaker knows that U.S. production can save it a boatload on tariffs. Making this move isn\u2019t something it\u2019s doing alone, though. Instead, it\u2019s partnering up with Stellantis, and the result is going to be unique. The pair looks ready to build Defender models specifically focused on the U.S. market.<\/p>\n

JLR<\/a> CFO Richard Molyneux confirmed the broad plan during the company\u2019s August 13 earnings call, Automotive News<\/a> reports. The two automakers signed an exploratory agreement back in May, and a memorandum of understanding is expected before year\u2019s end, which would clear the way for production at Stellantis plants in the U.S. Just don\u2019t expect the lineup to remain as it is today, though.<\/p>\n

Read: Land Rover\u2019s Defender Facelift Costs The Octa Nearly 100 HP<\/a><\/p>\n

Molyneux\u2019s point is that JLR doesn\u2019t move enough metal to justify building its current lineup in America<\/a>. \u201cAt our scale, it doesn\u2019t make sense for us to localize production of existing vehicles into North America,\u201d Molyneux said. \u201cWe sell circa 30,000 Defenders in the U.S. each year. We can never localize efficiently at 30,000 units, or even at 50,000 units.\u201d<\/p>\n


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To that end, he said the brand will launch new models in segments it doesn\u2019t currently occupy, developed under the Defender name in partnership with Stellantis. JLR won\u2019t say which segments, though the obvious candidate is a more traditional body-on-frame off-roader engineered with Stellantis support. That makes sense on multiple levels.<\/p>\n

A new Defender-branded model sharing bones with the Jeep Wrangler<\/a> would give the brand a credible entry below the current Defender, which sticks around, and a real shot at the Wrangler, Ford Bronco, and possibly even the electric trucks and SUVs Scout has coming. It would fix a rather expensive problem, too. Every vehicle JLR sells in America arrives from somewhere else, the Slovakia-built Defender included.<\/p>\n


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The automaker faces 10 percent duties on U.K.-built vehicles and 15 percent on those shipped from the EU. Manufacturing here would avoid that hit while reducing JLR\u2019s exposure to fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and British pound. That matters because North America is already JLR\u2019s largest market. It accounted for nearly 100,000 sales in the financial year ending March 31, or 28 percent of the company\u2019s global volume.<\/p>\n

Its share rose to 34 percent in the quarter ending June 30, while China continued moving in the opposite direction. JLR has ambitious plans for America, where it says its vehicles command its highest profits. The company wants its U.S. business to grow to the size of JLR\u2019s entire operation today \u2013 and a locally built Defender would be one very direct way to start.<\/p>\n


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