Jaguar Land Rover names Thierry Bollore as CEO, succeeding Speth

[COVENTRY] Jaguar Land Rover has named Thierry Bollore as its new chief executive officer to help steer the money-losing British luxury carmaker out of a prolonged sales slump.

The former CEO of Renault will succeed Ralf Speth, 64, who's scheduled to retire in September. Mr Speth will continue as non-executive vice-chairman of JLR, as well as remain on the board of Tata Sons, the group holding company of Indian parent Tata Motors.

Mr Bollore is taking over the helm at a time when the UK automaker is struggling to lift itself out of one of the steepest downturns made worse by the coronavirus pandemic-led lockdowns around the world. JLR was already grappling with slowing vehicle sales triggered by Brexit uncertainties, strict emission rules and dipping demand in China, one of its biggest markets.

Suffering record losses, JLR has embarked on a cost-cutting drive targeted to save £5 billion (S$8.8 billion) by March 2021. After slashing thousands of jobs, it said in June that it was reducing capital spending by about 25 per cent.

Mr Speth, who has spent a decade atop the British automaker, last month flagged signs of a recovery in vehicle sales in China, but challenges persist.

Tata Motors said last year that it wrote down its investment in JLR. The spread of the virus has wrecked economies and hit demand, prompting Moody's Investors Service to put Tata Motors' credit rating on review for a downgrade.

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