News Bites

Slovakia to build new Defender

JLR HAS confirmed that the all-new Land Rover Defender will be assembled at its Nitra plant in Slovakia, which opened last October. A JLR statement said: “Designed and engineered in the UK, the new Defender will be unveiled later this year. It will use the latest clean Ingenium engines built at Wolverhampton, reinforcing both the company’s British roots and the diversified, globalised nature of its manufacturing strategy.”

Although the move to Slovakia is no surprise, especially with the car maker’s decisions to relocate production of the Discovery last year, it only secures fears of a decline in British car manufacturing. Still, JLR said the decision to move the Defender abroad came amid plans for “significant investment” at the Solihull plant, for the next generation of Range Rover and Land Rover models, so not all is lost.

Animal-free textiles

CARBON fibre and Nappa leather used to be the tell-tell signs of a luxury appointed car. Nowadays, sustainable design is what a growing number of consumers are demanding. To which end, Land Rover unveiled its new line of vegetarian and vegan materials developed to outfit its 2020 Range Rover Evoque and Velar, at the New York International Auto Show. These included a textile produced from eucalyptus fibres and recycled plastic bottles. It is great news for those concerned with the provenance of the textiles and materials in their car, and they don’t carry an additional price premium over traditional textiles.