We will build Defenders in Slovakia, says Land Rover

THE new generation of Land Rov- er’s Defender 4x4 will be built in slovakia rather than Britain, the car-maker confirmed last night.

The shock decision to build what is considered an ‘ iconic’ British car abroad will be seen by many as a bitter blow – but the firm insisted that Brexit ‘had not played a role in the decision’.

The outgoing Defender model – much loved and often driven by the Queen and other members of the royal family – was built at Jaguar Land Rover’s solihull factory near Birmingham until production ceased in 2016. Its successor will be built at the company’s new £1 billion factory in Nitra, slovakia.

Land Rover said the new off-roader was designed and engineered in Britain – at its engineering centre in Gaydon in Warwickshire – with petrol and diesel engines supplied from its factory in Wolverhampton.

It said switching production to slovakia would free up capacity at solihull to build the flagship Range Rover and Land Rover models, including electrified versions of its 4x4.