Jaguar Land Rover says CEO Adrian Mardell to step down

CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, Adrian Mardell

Jaguar Land Rover chief Adrian Mardell will step down after more than three decades at the company, having said he wanted to retire after three years as CEO, a spokesperson for the automaker said on Thursday.

His successor will be announced in due course, the spokesperson added.

Mardell, who joined JLR in 1990, became chief executive in November 2022 - following a stint as chief financial officer from June 2019 - and spearheaded a major brand revamp at Jaguar.

During his tenure, the British luxury carmaker - a wholly owned subsidiary of India's Tata Motors - posted its highest profit in a decade, eliminated 5 billion pounds ($6.6 billion) in debt and posted its strongest operational performance to date.

JLR in April paused exports of its British-made vehicles to the United States for a month after President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all imported cars. It resumed exports in May.

The U.S., which accounts for nearly a quarter of JLR’s global sales, is a key market for its high-margin Range Rover and Defender models.

JLR has no manufacturing presence in the U.S. and its Range Rovers are built in Britain, now subject to a 10% levy, while its Defenders are assembled in Slovakia, which faces a 15% duty.

Jaguar has plants in Britain.

Mardell was among the guests at the opening of Donald Trump's new golf course in Scotland on Monday, part of the U.S. president's five-day visit to the UK.