Anyone for a Land Rover Pickup?
The JLR/Stellantis alliance may yield a US-market pickup
The Stellantis/JLR tie-up--intended to build a Defender-branded product in the US to take the brand into a new segment--was announced earlier this year. Given Stellantis’ portfolio, there are a number of architectures and configurations that could be adapted to fit the Defender ethos. Automotive News is reporting the companies have settled on a pickup--and that leads to all sorts of speculation in terms of how this vehicle would be executed.
First, how big? America loves big pickups, but they are also very brand loyal. Both Cadillac and Lincoln have dabbled in fullsize pickups in the past, and you can now get a fancy, luxury-appointed truck from one of the remaining brands in the fullsize truck segment. A Ram-based Defender is feasible--and would certainly be offroad-capable--but would Stellantis sacrifice some of that high-margin Ram volume to JLR?
A midsize pickup would be a direct competitor to the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, and hearken back to Land Rover Defender pickups from the past. Stellantis currently has the Gladiator, which has rebounded slightly in sales, but which also might a bit too uncivilized for a premium Land Rover pickup. A better bet might be the new Dakota, on an as-yet-unspecified body-on-frame platform. If the Dakota is packaged to accommodate the Hurricane twin-turbo L6, it also might accommodate JLR’s L6. The biggest problem? The huge influx of midsize pickups expected over the next few years: besides Ram, there’s Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, and maybe even VW by 2030. Even with Land Rover’s offroad credentials, that’s a crowded market to drop into.
The longest shot might a compact entry. With Ram expected to sell the Rampage here in a few years, they will have to find a way to build it here to avoid the 25% chicken tax. And the upcoming Defender Sport SUV will make the brand more accessible, so a Rampage-based compact pickup could slot alongside it in the showroom. The biggest challenge here might be refinement and capability. The current Rampage is built off the Fiat “Small Wide” architecture; can that be re-engineered to be refined enough--and offroad capable--to satisfy the expectations of the Defender brand?
This is definitely one of the more unusual--and unexpected--automotive alliances of late, and I’m eager to see what the final product looks like. It seems like a midsize entry might be the best strategic bet, but all of these options have their challenges. Let’s see which idea comes out on top...
Comments