Land Rover and Jeep reportedly plan to work together to design and build a full-size pickup that would be sold as part of the British automaker’s Defend lineup in the U.S. market.
The move, according to British newspaper The Times, would be built in the U.S. — likely at Stellantis’ underutilized Warren (MI) Truck Plant, just north of Detroit — permitting Land Rover to avoid the long-standing U.S. tariff on pickup trucks, better known as the Chicken Tax. The pickup of the first product born out of a memorandum that Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) signed in May to explore collaborative opportunities in the U.S.
JLR sales in China are on the decline, making the U.S. market a priority for Land Rover. The U.S. is currently the world’s biggest pickup truck market.
So far, no details are known about the pickup. Stellantis doesn’t currently make a unibody truck, and it’s unknown what engine would be used to power this pickup.
This new Defender pickup wouldn’t be the first one in the U.S. In the 1960s and ’70s, pickup versions of the Series 1 and Series II, which were based on a classic Land Rover SUV, were available in the U.S.
“Working with Stellantis allows us to explore complementary capabilities in product and technology development that support our long-term growth plans for the U.S. market,” said JLR CEO PB Balaji at the time of their agreement, which will be finalized at the end of this year.
JLR and Stellantis have yet to comment.
