Is Land Rover American?

Land Rover is well established as an excellent, and reliable choice for sports utility vehicles in multiple countries all over the world, especially in the United States.

The quality and performance of this vehicle in this country is unmatched. You can practically see them everywhere. This prompts the question: Is Land Rover American?

Does Land Rover Come From America?

Despite arguably being one of the country’s most favorite choices in SUVs, Land Rover is not American. In truth, Land Rover is actually a British car manufacturer that is part of the much larger multinational group, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

The Land Rover company that we know today started out as part of the Rover Company, a bicycle manufacturer located in Warwickshire, a historic county of Central England.

In 1947, this humble bicycle manufacturer took to designing its first sports utility vehicle which would then debut in 1948 as the very first Land Rover. 

At first, the term Land Rover was used to refer to the product line of SUV models that were put out by the Rover Company.

Eventually, the popularity and success of these SUVs continued to grow paving the way for Land Rover to become its own unique brand. 

Over the years, the Rover Group was acquired by and joined forces with a lot of auto industry giants. 

First, it was part of the British Leyland Motor Corporation from the years 1967 to 1994. Afterwards, it was acquired by the German auto manufacturing company BMW in who subsequently split up the Rover Group and sold Land Rover to the Ford Motor Company in the year 2000.

Today, it is currently owned by Tata Motors, the giant Indian auto manufacturing company based in Mumbai.

Despite being owned by multiple companies from various different countries, Land Rover still maintained its roots by keeping its headquarters in the city of Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

Why Do People Think Land Rover is American?

Is Land Rover American

There many people that are quick to assume that Land Rover is an American company or brand and there are many possible reasons to support those assumptions.

Such as the continued popularity of the vehicle in the area as well as the acquisition of Land Rover by the Ford Motor Company.

Increased Popularity in the Area

The United States, as part of North America, is noted as the most important market that the Land Rover company has. 

According to the latest statistics, this market continues to dominate sales as It has almost consistently topped every other region in the number of Land Rovers sold and has the highest amount of sales for the model year 18/’19.

Given this and the nation’s tendency to gravitate more towards products proudly made in American soil, it could be easy for others to mistake Land Rover for an American brand.

The Acquisition of Land Rover by Ford Motor Company

Usually, the association that Land Rover is American stems from the time that Land Rover was owned and developed by Ford Motor Company. 

After BMW split the Rover Group, Ford Motor Company, an American auto manufacturer and the second-largest automaker in the United States, acquired Land Rover and Jaguar from the German giant in the year of 2000. 

This company soon set to developing the great potential of this already well-established brand. It was through Ford that the then outdated boxy design of the Land Rover vehicles was updated to exhibit smoother, more modern curves.

Ford also had a great impact on the improvement of the engines that Land Rover vehicles used. To this day, Land Rover still maintains its connection to Ford by housing Ford-manufactured engines in some of the models in its seven-car lineup.

Given all that, you could say that Ford was the reason that we have the modern-day Land Rovers that you see on (and off) the road today.

Ford ultimately ended up selling Land Rover to Tata Motors in 2008. However, they did not split their ties completely as Ford still maintains some tie-ups with Land Rover as part of the conditions of the acquisition.

Is Land Rover Manufactured in America?

Is Land Rover American

Some people would think that Land Rover could possibly have manufacturing done in America but actually, this brand of automobiles are manufactured and produced in Solihull, England where their main factory is located. 

However, given the company’s great history of being acquired by multiple other companies, some manufacturing has also been spread out to include an old Ford factory in Halewood, England.

As of writing, production has also expanded to include other areas in Europe (Slovakia) and Asia (China and India).

Truly, Land Rover has a great number of factories that are responsible for the production of your favorite Land Rover sports utility vehicles such as  those listed below:

  • Solihull Plant, Lode Lane, Solihull, England (Main Factory)
  • Halewood Plant, Halewood, Merseyside, England (Old Ford Factory)
  • Nitra Plant, Slovakia
  • Changshu Plant, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Pune Plant, near Mumbai, Western India
  • Itatiatia Plant, Rio De Janeiro State, Brazil

Conclusion

Land Rover gained its start and continues to be a British auto manufacturing company. Despite being owned by quite a lot of multinational companies, it has remained steady in the market as a British company and brand. 

However, despite Land Rover not being an American brand, it still continues to impress and grow in the American market with its incredibly designed line of SUVs that offer stellar performance that almost seem custom made for the rough roads of the country.

Brent
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