Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has appointed a new boss less than a week after its previous chief executive announced plans to retire having steered the company's financial turnaround as well as Jaguar's 'woke' rebrand.
The British car maker confirmed on Monday night that PB Balaji, chief financial officer of parent company Tata Motors, will take over in November.
He will replace Adrian Mardell, who last week said he would leave after three years at the helm.
Mardell's exit follows a contentious rebrand last year which saw Jaguar axe its 'growler' badge and unveil an advert featuring diverse models – but no cars.
The decision prompted a barrage of criticism, including from US president Donald Trump as recently as this week, who took to Truth Social to blast Jaguar, declaring it was 'in absolute turmoil' and dubbed its rebrand as an all-electric luxury car maker 'stupid, and seriously woke'.
'Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
Mr Balaji succeeds Mardell, 64, who will leave having endured a 35-year spell with the British car maker, including a stint as chief financial officer from 2019 before being appointed chief exec in November 2022.
Mardell's reign has seen him guide JLR through one of the most transformative periods in the firm's recent history.
This includes spearheading a remarkable financial turnaround for the company, which has seen it bounce back from heavy losses and debt around the beginning of the 2020s to posting its best profits for a decade last year.
JLR reported a pre-tax profit of £2.5billion in 2024-25.
Announcing Mr Balaji's promotion to the hot seat, Mr Chandrasekaran, chairman of Jaguar Land Rover PLC, Tata Motors and Tata Sons said: 'I would like to thank Adrian for the stellar turnaround of JLR and for delivering record results.
'I am delighted to appoint Balaji as the incoming CEO of the company.
'The search for a suitable candidate to lead JLR has been undertaken by the Board for the past few months and after careful consideration it was decided to appoint Balaji.'
However, any assumption that Mr Balaji's appointment could see a change in JLR's strategy - including Jaguar's radical EV relaunch and divisive new image - have been quashed, for now, by the chairman.
He said: 'He [Mr Balaji] has been associated with the company for the past many years and is familiar with the company, its strategy and has been working with the JLR leadership team.
'This move will ensure that we continue to accelerate our journey to Reimagine JLR.'
In an official statement shared on Monday, Mr Balaji said: 'It is my privilege to lead this incredible company.
'Over the past eight years I have grown to know and love this company and its redoubtable global brands.
'I look forward to working with the team to take it to even greater heights. I thank Adrian for his immense contributions and wish him well for his next innings.'
The outgoing Mardell added: 'These three years have been a great privilege.
'Together with the incredible JLR workforce, we have cemented JLR’s position in the automotive industry during a time of incredible change.
'I would like to thank everyone in JLR and the extended Tata Group, and wish Balaji every success in his new role.'
Trump takes pop at JLR's departing CEO
US President Donald Trump was scathing of Jaguar and its departing CEO on Monday as he compared the firm's fortunes to those of clothing brand American Eagle in a rant on his social media platform Truth Social.
'Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the "HOTTEST" ad out there. It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are "flying off the shelves",' he wrote.
'Go get 'em Sydney! On the other side of the ledger, Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER! The CEO just resigned, and the company is in absolute turmoil.
'Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad. Shouldn't they have learned a lesson from Bud Lite, which went Woke.'
Trump ended the post by saying that 'being woke is losers'.
Despite the POTUS's claims, Mardell has in less than three years successfully coordinated a meteoric turnaround for the business, with JLR posting its strongest pre-tax profit result in a decade for the year ending 31 March 2025.
Meanwhile, revenues were flat at £29billion, despite a 1.7 per cent decline in the final quarter of the fiscal year.
JLR's success has been driven by record wholesale volumes of its Defender 4X4s, which sold 115,404 units over the 12-month period.
In contrast, just 26,862 Jaguars were sold worldwide in the financial year - a 45.8 per cent drop - after production of all models ceased in November as part of a planned 'sunset period' for the manufacturer, its dealers and its customers to prepare for the company's hotly-debated electrified relaunch.
Mardell also oversaw the restructuring of JLR with the 'House of Brands' retail strategy.
This sees Defender, Discovery, Range Rover and Jaguar each individually marketed as distinct brands in their own right.
Daily Mail has approached JLR for a response to Trump's comments on Monday.
