‘Everyone is affected’: UK town with Jaguar Land Rover plant reacts to Trump’s tariffs

JLR, which people say defines the region’s industrial identity, produces cars that will be subject to a 25% tariff. Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

From mountainsides to deserts, or even just to get around town, Land Rovers are used the world over. For a time however, many of the sturdy vehicles’ distinctive oval plates were branded with the name of a West Midlands town.

“It’s an icon for Solihull and it was synonymous with Britain,” said Robert Mills, 70. The town is home to the 121-hectare (300-acre) Jaguar Land Rover car plant, which employs more than 9,000 people and is one of the last bastions of the UK’s waning automotive industry.