In this morning's Financial Times

Ralf Speth, the long-serving but polarising chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, will step back from his position when his contract ends in September, the company is set to announce on Thursday, according to two people familiar with the plans.

His departure draws to an end a turbulent near-decade tenure in which Britain’s largest car manufacturer enjoyed a historic revitalisation, followed by a crisis in which it had to shed thousands of jobs and write off billions in past investments.

Sir Ralf, 65, will focus more on his position on the board of Tata Sons, the holding company for JLR’s owner, and will remain in an advisory role at the UK carmaker he has led since 2010.

While Tata Motors board member Hanne Sorensen, a former CEO of tanker giant Maersk, has been mooted as a possible replacement for Sir Ralf, a successor is not expected to be named in Thursday’s announcement.

A spokesman for JLR declined to comment.

Sir Ralf, a German engineer, was brought into the British premium group following its acquisition by Tata Motors from Ford.

He oversaw a wholesale rejuvenation of the business, opening plants overseas and driving a strong rise in profits from markets such as China and the US on the back of its Range Rover models.

Under his watch the business opened plants in Slovakia and Brazil and an engine plant in China, and also built its first, fully electric car, the Jaguar I-Pace, which scooped a collection of international awards.

But the group’s fortunes turned as many of its big profit pillars came unstuck, while the stern management style that helped Sir Ralf pull the business up during its growth years led to a stream of executive departures.

The company has been forced to lay off thousands of staff and announce a big overhaul of its entire business after sales slowed and the group plunged into losses, primarily because of the public rejection of the diesel technology that sits at the company’s technological heart. A slowdown in China, which affected JLR more than other premium brands such as BMW, also hit the group.

In the three months to September 2019, the business returned to profit following its plans to cut £2.5bn of costs.

But the business is still expected to book a loss for the first nine months of its financial year, which runs from April to March, when it issues quarterly figures on Thursday.

Sir Ralf, who joined from BMW, tried to emulate the German carmaker’s strategy at the British group, expanding its model line-up to cover a range of vehicle types, filling every slot in the market from small saloons to large sports utility vehicles.

But the move ultimately meant that many of the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover models competed against each other and this led to large-scale cannibalisation across its range.

The group also embarked on a revival of the Land Rover Defender. The second world war-era off-roader, despite being rich in nostalgia, ultimately added to its already-cluttered line-up of SUVs. It also used money that analysts say would have been better spent adding electric or hybrid systems to the line-up.

Despite the plaudits for the Jaguar I-Pace, the company has been slow to add electric options to its core line-up, at a time when arch-rival BMW has been offering hybrid options over most of its range.

The company pledged last year to build new electric Jaguar models at its Castle Bromwich facility, following an investment of roughly £1bn. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

..... always good to have a shuffle of staff, low end as well as top end, it adds to new blood, new thinking and new opportunities.

when I worked I never stayed more than 4-5yrs at any company or market. (could never understand the mentality of you joined a company for life ! )

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There are benefits of staying in the same company /industry. I worked for the same IT company for 30 years, traveled the world and had a different job about every 3 or 4 years years and often in different places. It worked for me and I wangled redundancy at 55 with a 6 figure payoff and very good pension. That's how I can afford to run an FL2  3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Yes, I don't think Ralph is down the job center claiming his Universally acCredited five weeks unpaid holiday.

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Ralfie is going to get that Golden Parachute...........
No line ups for Ralfie.

I did notice this quote also today

JLR also last week cut another 500 jobs at its Halewood factory near Liverpool as it ended its night shift.

It seems that Halewood (Evoque and Discovery Sport) cut production from 3 shifts to 2.

I think that we all need to know what the government plan is for future transport, and a bit of advice (and help) on which cars to buy, and if not internal combustion, then will the future infrastructure to fuel/charge be available at home and around the country. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 79k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

I do feel sorry for those at Halewood who are now without a job and a golden parachute, but I for one don't believe that the reduction in sales of the Evoque and DS are primarily down to the Diesel falling out of favour.

The ignium engines fitted to these cars are a much bigger cause. Would you spend £30k - £50k+ on a car that either filled the sump with fuel, or chewed balance shafts like mars bars? To be told by dealers it's your driving style !

Premium brands should have premium quality and premium customer service - loose either and it takes a long - long time to recover.

Not every vehicle is effected by these troubles (both mine are/were), but if even 10% are then your only savour is the way you treat the customers. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner