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Would you buy a Land Rover built in Slovakia?

IN THE news section of the August issue we reported that Discovery production is moving to Slovakia. A decision which was widely debated on social media by Land Rover fans around the world. In fact, columnist David Phillips has some strong words to say about it all on page 29.

My Defender 110 was sent as a CKD kit from the UK to South Africa on 04 December, 1997, where it was assembled and mated to the BMW M52 engine. Does that bother me? No, it does not because as an African I’m rather proud of my Defender’s heritage. Would it bother a Brit, Russian or Aussie if his Land Rover was designed in Gaydon but built in Slovakia? I suspect it might bother some, especially those who were out of work as a result of the production move.

Land Rover has given so much to the communities around Solihull (see page 10), and so too have the people of Solihull and the surrounding area to the manufacturing plant. Often businesses make decisions based on their financial implications, and that’s understandable in certain situations. The Slovakia move was done to save money. Plus, it is a part of JLR’S global production strategy.

What next though? A Land Rover production facility in USA? Or Mexico? Would Donald Trump climb into a Range Rover built in North America?

We as enthusiasts cannot influence Land Rover’s high-level strategic decisions. We might not agree with them, just like the decision to end Defender production, but that’s life sometimes.

You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that the new Defender might be built on a Discovery platform. So, does this mean the new Defender will also be built in Slovakia? And will diehard fans just accept that? Probably not. I guess we will have to watch this space.