Jaguar Land Rover’s long-term design chief, Gerry McGovern, the creative figure behind the polarising 2024 Jaguar Type 00 concept, has reportedly been removed from his post as Chief Creative Officer, effective immediately, according to Autocar India.
The publication, based out of the home base of Tata which owns JLR, claims the British designer was “escorted out of the office” at JLR’s Gaydon Design Studio in the UK. When approached by sister title Autocar UK, a company spokesperson gave “No comment” on Mr McGovern’s current status.
Leadership shift at JLR
The reports emerge in the wake of major leadership changes at JLR, including the appointment of former Tata Group finance boss PB Balaji as CEO in November. His predecessor, Adrian Mardell, departed two years into a three-year contract for “personal reasons”.
McGovern played a central role in Jaguar’s major brand transformation plan, including the high-stakes move toward a trio of luxury, electric-only models previewed by the controversial Type 00 concept. Industry analysts have speculated that both Mardell’s and McGovern’s exits stem from internal friction over Jaguar’s future design direction and reception of the new Jaguar design era.
A major influence on modern JLR
According to JLR’s own statements, McGovern was “responsible for the creative direction and curation of the house of brands: Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar,” guiding the automaker’s push to become the creator of “the world’s most desirable automotive brands”.
His 21-year long career highlights at JLR include:
- The first Land Rover Freelander
- Design leadership on the 2010 Range Rover (L322)
- The Range Rover Sport (second and third generation)
- Discovery 4 (2009–2016)
- Range Rover Velar
- Reinventing the Defender nameplate
Before joining Land Rover in 2004 as director of advanced design, McGovern worked at Ford with the Lincoln and Mercury divisions. He was also close to former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata, who passed away in 2024.
Challenges continue for JLR
His departure comes as JLR recovers from a cyber attack in September that halted production across multiple global factories, costing an estimated £50 million ($A 101 million) per week. Sales performance has also diverged: Jaguar is down nearly 30 per cent year-to-date in Australia, while Land Rover is up 6.1 per cent thanks largely to the current Defender.
JLR has yet to comment publicly on McGovern’s future or who may lead the company’s design direction from here.
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