Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO Is Out

• Jaguar Land Rover CEO Adrian Mardell is retiring after 35 years at the company.
• During his three-year tenure as head honcho, the automaker posted its best profit figures in a decade.
• Mardell’s departure comes as Jaguar’s controversial EV makeover is in full swing.

Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO, Adrian Mardell, is leaving the company after almost three years at the helm and a 35-year stint in various roles, Autocar revealed. 

Mardell’s departure comes amid Jaguar’s massively controversial transformation to an ultra-luxurious electric vehicle maker is taking shape. Furthermore, demand issues have forced Land Rover to delay the launch of the all-electric Range Rover SUV, and production of all Jaguar models is on hiatus until the revamped lineup is ready.

“Adrian Mardell has expressed his desire to retire from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company,” JLR said in a statement. ”His successor will be announced in due course.”

Photo by: InsideEVs

Mardell will step down on December 31, and it’s unclear if an insider will replace him at the helm. JLR’s latest CEO transformed the company into a much more stable marque. After being appointed head honcho during the pandemic, he steered the Tata Motors-owned entity from heavy losses and massive debt to posting record profit numbers for a decade. Jaguar Land Rover posted its 10th consecutive profitable quarter and made $2.5 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March.

Jaguar faced criticism for its controversial rebranding, which marked a total departure from its restrained past. Androginous models, shouty colors and a new logo were all part of the marketing campaign for the Type 00 concept car that debuted last year.

With the radical rebranding, Jaguar aims to move upmarket from its traditional place in the industry as a BMW and Mercedes-Benz rival. With an estimated price tag of over $125,000, the production version of Jaguar’s upcoming electric grand tourer will firmly put it in Bentley territory and above.

Still, Mardell is confident that the iconic British marque’s trajectory is right. “In today’s market conditions, I don’t see anything that is going to concern me about the success of the new Jaguar in this new world at all, actually,” he said for Autocar in an interview earlier this year.

Adrian Mardell’s resignation comes amid a wave of change in the automotive industry. Tariffs and supply chain disruptions have forced carmakers to delay or cancel their financial guidelines, and several CEOs have either been fired or have resigned, with Volvo, Renault, and Stellantis among the affected names.