JLR CEO Adrian Mardell is leaving the British manufacturer after almost three years at the helm, Autocar can reveal.
Mardell was appointed as CEO in 2023, following the sudden departure of Thierry Bolloré, and has led the Jaguar and Land Rover brands through one of the most transformative periods in their respective histories.
A JLR spokesperson said in an official statement sent to Autocar India: "Adrian Mardell has expressed his desire to retire from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company. His successor will be announced in due course.”
Mardell has steered the company through a remarkable financial turnaround, with it going from heavy losses and huge debt in the wake of the pandemic, to posting its best profit figures for a decade last year.
The dramatic change in the company's fortunes was underpinned by the popularity of its highly profitable Defender and Range Rover models, which have put JLR on track to achieve a targeted 10% profit margin by 2026.
Mardell has also overseen the formation of JLR's House of Brands retail strategy, under which Defender, Discovery, Range Rover and Jaguar have each been carved out as distinct brands in their own right, with bespoke marketing strategies centred around the positioning of those model families.
But arguably the most significant moment of Mardell's tenure as boss was the unveiling of the radical Jaguar Type 00 concept, which marked the beginning of the all-out transformation of the marque from a BMW and Mercedes-Benz rival to a purveyor of high-end, high-performance EVs that will do battle with Bentley.
The first of these models, a four-door super-GT in the vein of the Porsche Taycan, is now in the final stages of testing ahead of a production-spec unveiling at the end of the year and a launch in summer 2026 - until which time no Jaguar models are being produced.
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There's already production in Britain, not many car companies produce all their cars in one country alone.
JLR employs many people of many countries. One country is missing. We would like a Japanese as head of QA department. Reliability should improve immensely.
Now all they need to do is get rid of Gezza and they may be able to progress.