JLR boss steps down after 10 years at helm
JAGUAR Land Rover’s CEO, Sir Ralf Speth, has confirmed that he is stepping down from his role at the helm of the UK’s biggest car manufacturer.
An emergency board meeting was held on Thurs 30 Jan to ratify the decision. Speth also confirmed in the meeting that he will adopt a senior role on the board of JLR’s parent company, Tata Motors, and step down as CEO of JLR in September this year.
Speth said: “I feel very honoured to have worked with so many dedicated and creative people, both inside and outside of JLR. We have elevated Jaguar and Land Rover. I want to say thank you for all their support and commitment.
“We offer our customers multi-awardwinning products and will continue to surprise with the best pipeline of new, innovative products we have ever had. Personally, I am looking forward to new and exciting challenges.”
In his 10 years as CEO, Speth has had a rollercoaster ride with the business. Massive investment in product saw huge profits, especially across the Range Rover business, before sales of diesel-engined vehicles slumped and the Chinese market slowed down, forcing JLR into the red and leading to widespread redundancies.
There’s no word yet on who will replace Speth this September. But his fellow Tata board member Hanne Sorensen, formerly chief executive of the tanker company Maersk, is rumoured to have been lined up to take the helm.
“In his 10 years as CEO, Speth had a rollercoaster ride with the business“
FROM an outsider’s view – and this is the only view that we as Germans can take – Brexit is a big misunderstanding. And the misunderstanding is that things will get better. I don‘t think so, truly not. Princess Di loved her Audi Cabrio; Boris Johnson loves his Toyota Previa; the world loves the MINI (although it‘s a BMW).
But Lotus and the London taxi belong to China, Bentley to Volkswagen, Rolls-Royce to BMW, and the [outgoing] boss of Jaguar is a German. Our industry sells close to 700,000 cars every year in the UK, more than in any other European country.
The world is one. We are one team. Who needs new taxes, fewer jobs, vanished industry, higher prices and border controls? You may not be sending billions to Brussels anymore, but you will not save a penny.
TOM DRECHSLER,
Editor in Chief of Cars, BILD Group