JLR
The new Defender is still undergoing final testing. Photo: JLR
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced that it is to move production of its new Defender outside of the UK to Slovakia instead.
“We have driven 1.2 million kilometres in the new Defender in all terrains and extreme climatic conditions,” said Nick Rogers, Director Group Engineering, JLR, “to ensure that it is the strongest and most capable Land Rover ever made.”
While this will be the first time a Defender is manufactured outside of the UK, it is the second JLR model to be built in the Slovakian plant. Last October, JLR moved production of the Discovery model to the Nitra plant in the country's west, about 100 km from the capital, Bratislava.
JLR has said that the design will remain in the UK, at Gaydon, Warwickshire and the Defender engines will continue to be produced at the Wolverhampton plant. However, the restructuring will lead to losses of around 4,500 jobs in the country.
A statement from the company added: "This decision is in parallel with plans for significant investment at the company's Solihull plant in the UK to support the production of the next generation of flagship Range Rover and Land Rover models."
The decision to move to Slovakia comes at a difficult time for carmakers in the UK as uncertainty around the Brexit deal continues unabated.
Other challenges for the industry include the economic slowdown in China and a general crackdown on diesel for environmental reasons.
The decision by JLR comes not long after decisions by Japanese car giant Nissan to relocate production to Japan, shortly followed by a similar announcement by Honda to close its UK plant by 2021.
A statement released on Tuesday by the UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) expressed the motor industry's concern over a no-deal Brexit: "Should Britain crash out of the EU and fall back on WTO rules for a sustained period, (UK car) output is forecast to fall around 30% on recent levels to just 1.07 million units by 2021, a level consistent with the dark days of the mid-1980s."
The SMMT also said that car production had now been in decline in the UK for 10 months running and slumped by 14% year-on-year to 126,000 cars produced in March. The association expressed concern that no deal would result in higher costs, disruptions to the supply chain and tariffs having an effect on competitiveness.
The car industry is Slovakia's largest employer, having generated over 300,000 jobs. Volkswagen, Kia and Peugeot all make cars in the central European country.
Overall production at Slovakia's car plants is expected to hit 1.15 million in 2019.
Back to Homepage
Back to Transportation