Owners of old Landrovers hardly ever buy new ones - they only buy 'less old' ones, so why would JLR bother producing in UK? Defender production this century never went above 3% of output anyway...
The idea of taking a Toy-boat-a anywhere isn't one i'd relish, the days of them being more reliable off or on road than a Landrover ended in the 1990's.
The comment above regarding ground clearance of the later models is worthy of explanation - JLR produce vehicles that people want to buy, they are developed for the biggest markets - currently USA, Russia and China - but are given 'offroad' capability (better than any other IMO) that will barely be used - if ever. Some models benefit from air suspension that can be raised automatically or manually to give greater clearance when needed, conversely, it can also be lowered to give car park clearance or greater stability at speed. In addition, the traction control systems mean that you can be 'cross axel'd' but still maintain traction and forwards movement - something that would leave an earlier Defender (or every Japanese offroader i've driven) in need of a tow or assistance from a shovel or winch.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
