JLR and Stellantis to assemble Defender-branded vehicles in the US
As part of its planned collaboration with Stellantis in the US, Jaguar Land Rover confirmed in an August 13 earnings call that it will assemble Defender-branded models in the US – a move designed to reduce the manufacturer's exposure to US tariffs.
JLR and Stellantis are set to assemble Defender-branded vehicles on US soil
JLR
Manufacturing footprints are usually redrawn slowly, plant by plant, model cycle by model cycle. JLR's reply to the US's tariff wall is different. Rather than shifting an existing production line across the Atlantic, the British carmaker is building an entirely new one, on another OEM's shop floor.
The vehicle manufacturer confirmed on its August 13 earnings call that its planned collaboration with Stellantis, first announced in May, will include actual assembly on US soil. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two carmakers is due to be formalised by the end of the year, and will see new Defender-branded vehicles developed and built at Stellantis's facilities in the US.
Producing vehicles on "the right side of the tariff barrier"
Despite the US being JLR's largest market, the carmaker current imports every vehicle it sells in the country, from its factories in either Slovakia or the UK. But US import duties introduced in 2025 add 10% to UK-built cars and 15% to those arriving from the EU, a category that includes the Slovakia-built Defender.
"We know we need to get some production on the right side of the tariff barrier," said Richard Molyneux, JLR's chief financial officer during the recent earnings call.
That puts JLR several years behind rivals who read the geography earlier. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are already inside the tariff barrier, with large SUV plants in South Carolina and Alabama respectively that have run for decades. Volvo already builds its EX90 in the US and is preparing to add the XC60 there too. For an OEM whose profitability leans so heavily on its American customers, standing outside that tariff barrier was becoming an expensive position to hold.
Other benefits of US production
Of course, avoiding tariffs isn't the only way that JLR can benefit from localisation manufacturing on US soil. Bringing production closer to end markets will also allow JLR to significantly reduce logistics costs, while improving supply chain resilience by reducing its exposure to international shipping disruption – a trend that has defined global logistics so far in 2026.
Manufacturing Defender-branded models in the US in collaboration with Stellantis gives JLR a significant platform for growth in the domestic market, but just how deep the partnership between the two automakers will go remains to be seen.
The China problem sharpens America's pull
The US' growing importance is partly a story of decline elsewhere. China, once JLR's largest market, saw sales fall 26% in the latest quarter to just 11% of the total, part of a broader retreat by European premium brands as Chinese buyers pivot rapidly away from combustion models. Molyneux was unsentimental about the prognosis, saying "China is unlikely to get any easier" for the carmaker.
