Which British company manufactures the Defender off-road vehicle?

The British company that manufactures the Defender off-road vehicle is Land Rover. The Defender evolved from the original Land Rover line, a rugged four-wheel-drive vehicle introduced in 1948 for agricultural, military, and utility work.

The modern Defender’s direct predecessors appeared in the 1980s as the Land Rover Ninety and Land Rover One Ten, names referring approximately to their wheelbases in inches. After the Land Rover Discovery broadened the brand’s model range in 1989, these vehicles were renamed Defender 90 and Defender 110 in 1990; a longer Defender 130 was also offered.

Defenders became known for their steel ladder chassis, aluminium-alloy body panels, four-wheel drive, and ability to operate in demanding terrain. Production of the original generation ended in January 2016 after more than two million Series Land Rover and Defender vehicles had been built. Land Rover introduced a substantially redesigned Defender generation in 2020.

Jaguar is a common source of confusion because both brands belong to Jaguar Land Rover, the wider automotive company. Bentley and Jeep are separate manufacturers, and Jeep is an American brand rather than the maker of the British Defender.