Report: JLR collaborating with Stellantis on Defender pick-up

JLR is considering building a Defender pick-up as part of its new alliance with Stellantis, according to a report in The Times.

In June the two firms signed a memorandum of understanding concentrated on the Defender brand and “exploring new opportunities targeted at North American clients”.

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Although plans are at an early stage and will be finalised at the end of this year, The Times suggested the new Land Rover model will be built in the US to avoid tariffs on imported trucks.

It remains to be seen whether the pick-up will be based on the existing Defender’s architecture or one used by an existing Stellantis model. 

Stellantis owns popular pick-up brand Ram and 4×4 stalwart Jeep, and the Jeep Gladiator is a pick-up version of the Defender-rivalling Wrangler.

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JLR has long hinted at the prospect of a Defender pick-up. In 2021, its then executive director of vehicle programmes, Nick Collins, said that “there [was] customer demand” and “no structural limitations”. 

However, CFO Richard Molyneux recently said it “doesn’t make sense” to build existing Defender models in the US. JLR sells 30,000 Defenders in the nation annually and it can “never localise efficiently at 30,000 units, or even at 50,000 units”.

CEO PB Balaji previously said collaborations with other firms would be critical to “unlocking new opportunities”.

JLR said it’s currently treating the US as a “priority growth market” and will create “exclusive offerings” for the market in due course. 

“Our aspiration in the coming years is to grow our US business to the size of the entire JLR business as it exists today,” added Balaji.

The luxury pick-up market is one that has yet to be fully realised. Most of the mooted Defender model’s rivals would be upmarket variants of conventional work trucks, such as the Ford F-150 King Ranch or Ram 1500 Tungsten.

Many bespoke luxury trucks have previously failed to stay the course, such as the Cadillac Escalade EXT, Lincoln Blackwood and Mercedes-Benz X-Class – although the German brand’s offering was never sold in the US.

JLR declined to comment on the report. Autocar has also contacted Stellantis for comment.