The chief executive of luxury car maker JLR is stepping down after three years in the role. Adrian Mardell is set to leave at the end of 2025 after 35 years with the company.
The news comes less than a year after a rebrand of Jaguar which saw its famous ‘growler' badge disappear.
The revamp was branded "woke" by certain sections of the media and criticised heavily for a TV advert which did not actually feature any of the cars.
Following Jaguar's controversial rebrand, the company unveiled its Type 00 prototype electric vehicles at Miami Art Week last year in two bold colours called Miami Pink and London Blue.
JLR said the vehicle's theme was 'Exuberant Modernism' and it had "bold forms and exuberant proportions to inspire future Jaguars".
Want more business news straight to your inbox?
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the country - and you can stay in touch with all the latest news through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
At the time, Mr Mardell said: "The magic of Jaguar is close to my heart - an original British luxury brand unmatched in its heritage, artistry and emotional magnetism.
"That's the Jaguar we are recapturing and we will create the same sense of awe that surrounded iconic models like the E-type.
"Our journey is already under way, guided by our original ethos to Copy Nothing - and the results will be nothing short of spectacular."
The financial side of the business has been a success however, moving from huge debts during covid to a pre-tax profit of £2.5 billion in its 2024/25 annual results, announced in May.
Mr Mardell has also led the restructure of the business, including switching the name from Jaguar Land Rover to simply JLR, and the introduction of the House of Brands retail strategy which sees Defender, Discovery, Range Rover and Jaguar marketed as individual distinct brands.
JLR is headquartered in Coventry and has manufacturing plants across the West Midlands and in Halewood, Merseyside.
A brief statement issued by the business said: "Adrian Mardell has expressed his desire to retire from JLR after three years as CEO and 35 years with the company. His successor will be announced in due course."
The 64 year old replaced Thierry Bolloré as chief executive who himself had only spent two years in the post.
He initially took over the role in an interim capacity in late 2022 before being made the permanent chief executive the following summer.
Mr Mardell had previously been chief financial officer and a member of the JLR board of directors for several years.
The company is currently engaged in a long-running transformation programme which it calls 'Reimagine'.
Launched in 2021 by Mr Mardell's predecessor, it is aiming to transition the business to become carbon net zero across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039. This includes electrification of its range of cars.
More recently, it has had to face down the prospect of increased export tariffs to the US which represents around a fifth of its sales and where it does not currently have a factory.
It caused JLR to pause sending cars to America temporarily after President Trump announced huge new tariffs in April of 25 per cent before a new US-º£½ÇÊÓƵ trade deal was struck in May which brought that figure down to ten per cent.
And last month, it announced plans to axe up to 500 management jobs across its º£½ÇÊÓƵ operations amid pressure on sales due to those new trade tariffs.
The manufacturer said around 1.5 per cent of its º£½ÇÊÓƵ workforce would be affected by the job cuts which are going as part of a voluntary redundancy programme for managers.
It comes after JLR revealed that retail sales had plunged 15.1 per cent in the three months to June after a temporary pause in exports to the US and the planned wind-down of older Jaguar models.
