Sir Ralf Speth is to stand down from his role as Jaguar Land Rover CEO after ten years at the helm, the company’s parent Tata Motors has announced. The Bavarian will step down when his current contract ends in September, moving into the role of non-executive vice chairman at JLR while retaining his seat on the board of the holding company for the Tata Group, Tata Sons. The move is thought to relate to Speth’s gradual reduction in workload after years of service; although the 64-yer-old doesn’t look to be signing off just yet, stating that he’s looking forward to “new and exciting challenges”.
The news may come as a shock to some, with Speth having been the face of JLR all through the last decade. But with the company having just returned to profit, it’s arguably the ideal time for him to step aside. No doubt his successor, who will be sourced in the coming months, will appreciate being provided with a company on the road to recovery, rather than one badly hit by the effects of challenging economic winds and diesel’s demise – as was the case for most of 2019 for JLR, when its sales declined by 5.9 per cent.
That being said, even with an apparent recovery in place, Speth’s achievements will be extremely hard to mimic. The former BMW and Ford employee lead the charge during JLR’s explosive years of the 2010s, when the workforce grew by over 17,000 employees, it launched key products such as the Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar F-Pace and new production sites were completed both in the UK and Slovakia. And, of course, its Special Vehicle Operations department was created enabling unprecedented levels of V8 performance and lap records at JLR. The company he hands over is very different to the one he inherited in 2010, put it that way.
“I feel very honoured to have worked with so many dedicated and creative people, both inside and outside of Jaguar Land Rover,” said Speth, who was given a knighthood for his services to the British automotive industry in October. “We have elevated Jaguar and Land Rover. I want to say thank you for all their support and commitment.”
The challenges continue, though, as illustrated by the recent announcement of job cuts at JLR’s Halewood plant. Around 500 workers – equivalent to about 10 per cent of staff there – are to be offered voluntary redundancies so the site can switch from a three to a “two-plus” shift pattern. It follows a string of cuts last year that were rolled out in a bid to cut £2.5 billion of spending from JLR’s books, following the losses it suffered as diesel sales plummeted. At least the new CEO will take the lead as JLR’s push to electrify its whole range reaches full speed. An engine supply and tech deal with BMW ought to help, too.
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