Land Rover will stop making the Defender at the end of today’s workday at the Solihull factory.
The Defender is synonymous with the Land Rover brand and has been built at the plant since 1948, just one year after the project has been approved. By now, over two million Land Rover Defenders have been made.
The end of production of the Defender is significant to the automotive world because the vehicle is an icon of off-roading and has been built in roughly the same form for almost seven decades. The longevity of the car is more surprising in the context of the evolution of automobiles (pun intended) over the Defender’s production life.
European legislation, namely crash protection standard and emission regulations, makes Land Rover stop producing the Defender in its current form. When the British company announced they would stop building it, demand for the off-roader soared. After all, who wouldn’t want a piece of motoring legend on wheels?
The demand for the Defender grew to such extent that the two-millionth example was auctioned off for a hefty sum. The final year of production for this model also brought special editions, a wise move from the company that brought increased revenue. The decision to introduce a goodbye version made sense: if you’re going to buy a new Defender, why not go big and pick the special edition.
Over the years, the special edition cars could keep their value pretty well, even if the owners rack up some miles on the odometer. The good part about these cars is that they are best enjoyed off-road, so their owners could still have fun with them and benefit from the practical side of owning a Defender instead of just keeping one in the garage in the hope of later profit.
The end of production for the Land Rover Defender marks the longest continuous production of a vehicle in the world. The previous car to hold this title was the Volkswagen Beetle, whose production was continued for quite a while in Mexico and other countries. Like the Beetle, the simplicity of the Defender and its utility made the vehicle popular around the world.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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