A Land Rover Defender pick-up? JLR teams up with Stellantis for new US model
With some help from Stellantis, Land Rover is looking to answer a call being made by its biggest market
Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with Stellantis to collaborate on a new model designed for the USA, answering a call from customers for a more specialised model with American priorities in mind.
JLR signed a memorandum of understanding with Stellantis, the parent company of Jeep, Ram and Dodge, back in May, but The Times is now reporting that these talks have advanced, suggesting this more specialised model could take the form of a large pick-up.
The details of the agreement are still unknown, but the technical make-up of a new Land Rover pick-up could be taken in various directions. One option could be to build it from the current Land Rover Defender platform, which should be flexible enough to support a pick-up bodyshell despite its car-like unibody construction.
Despite being considered a big car in Europe, though, a modern Defender is a relatively small SUV by American standards. This could ultimately limit the appeal of any pick-up based on the same platform, despite being an authentically ‘Land Rover’ product under the skin.
Alternatively, it’s also possible Land Rover could effectively license the company’s name and some of its technology for a model built on US-optimised Stellantis underpinnings. This wouldn’t just mean a potential switch to a body-on-frame construction, as is the norm with American full-size pick-ups, but would also give Land Rover the opportunity to build a much bigger truck.
Such an operation could take its lead from Land Rover’s partnership with Chery in China, in which Land Rover handles the vehicle’s design, but leaves the engineering package to its partner, streamlining the manufacturing process and potentially bringing this new model to market more quickly.
Antonio Filosa, chief executive officer of Stellantis, previously said: “By working with partners to explore synergies in areas such as product and technology development, we can create meaningful benefits for both sides while remaining focused on delivering the products and experiences our customers love.”
Meanwhile, JLR’s CEO, PB Balaji, confirmed this would help support its long-term growth plans in the US market.
This cooperation between JLR and Stellantis could yield many benefits for both companies, but it’s arguably JLR that stands to benefit the most. That’s because this could unlock a more direct path into manufacturing in the USA, which could sidestep the Trump administration’s erratic trade policy.
The possibilities of this collaboration could extend beyond just a new US-built pick-up, too, because JLR’s next-generation BEV architectures – such as the one used by the new Jaguar Type 01 – could also be of use for high-end brands including Maserati and Alfa Romeo. These two relatively low-volume brands both need investment in high-end BEV technologies to remain competitive with premium European brands.
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