JLR CEO Adrian Mardell steps down
The fact that Adrian Mardell now wants to quit is not entirely surprising: he is 64 years old and has spent more than half his life in the Group, and so a company spokesperson also says, “Adrian Mardell has expressed his desire to retire from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company.” The exact date of his departure is still unknown, and a successor has not yet been announced.
Adrian Mardell joined JLR in 1990, which did not actually exist in this form at the time, but was only created in 2013 following the takeover of Land Rover by Jaguar. Both companies had previously been acquired by the Indian group Tata Motors in 2008.
Mardell made a career in finance and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 2019. Following the resignation of CEO Thierry Bolloré, Mardell was initially appointed as the new CEO on an interim basis and then permanently in July 2023. During Adrian Mardell’s tenure as CEO, JLR achieved its highest profit in ten years, and the Group also reduced its debt by £5 billion (approx. 5.75 billion euros).
Under his leadership, the Jaguar brand also pushed ahead with its comprehensive relaunch as a manufacturer of electric vehicles, and was heavily criticised. Last December, the brand underwent a major rebranding, including the presentation of the Type 00 electric concept car, in which Jaguar deliberately broke with its own history and drew the scorn of the conservative car world with its colourful and diverse campaign. In future, Jaguar is to be positioned higher, appeal to a young, affluent clientele and, above all, only offer purely electrically powered models. With this brand transformation, Jaguar wants to become a serious competitor to the British luxury brand Bentley in the future, whereas previously it was more likely to compete with BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Jaguar’s new direction, which is in stark contrast to Jaguar’s rebellious image coined in the 1970s with animalistic adverts and slogans such as ‘the 12-cylinder beast’ or ‘Nobody’s Pussycat’, was defended by CEO Mardell. He said that the new brand image would “create the same sense of awe that surrounded iconic models like the E-Type.”
JLR’s business has recently been strongly affected by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. When he initially imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all imported cars in April, JLR stopped exporting its vehicles manufactured in the UK to the United States for a month. However, JLR resumed exports to the USA in May. The USA is one of JLR’s most important markets, where the company generates almost a quarter of its turnover. At the same time, JLR does not yet have a production facility in the USA. The Range Rover is built in the UK and is now subject to a 10 per cent tariff, while the Defender is assembled in Slovakia and is now subject to the new 15 per cent tariff on EU exports to the USA.
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