Adrian Mardell, the man who turned Jaguar Land Rover into, simply, JLR, and put in place a strategy to market Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery as their own brands is retiring. Autocar reported Thursday that Mardell is stepping away after two years on the job, and JLR hasn't yet announced a successor.
Mardell joined JLR in 1990 and became chief financial officer of the company in 2018. He took over the top job after his predecessor, Thierry Bolloré, resigned in 2023. As Autocar points out, Mardell helped JLR become profitable after a few rough years during the Covid-19 pandemic, but his departure comes at a critical time for the company.
Jaguar unveiled a rebrand as a high-end EV maker last year with a campaign that was widely mocked. The brand has also stopped production of all previous models in anticipation of a new $100,000-plus electric cars that will arrive into a market that seems to be rejecting luxury EVs. Jaguar is moving into a bold new direction, and it's future is anything but certain.
Things are better over at Land Rover thanks to the continued success and profitability of Range Rover and Defender models. But, Range Rover is set to launch its first EV, and it's already been delayed until next year over apparently weak demand.
There's also tariffs to contend with. The US has 10-percent duty on the first 100,000 UK cars exported to the US in any given year, which is lower than the duties on cars from any other country. But, the Defender and Discovery are built in Slovakia, which is subject to a 15-percent tariff.
In some ways, Mardell leaves JLR better than he found it. But, it faces many of the same challenges all automakers face right now and its own unique set of uncertainties. Mardell's successor will be very busy.
