Former Renault leader Thierry Bolloré will replace Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover in September.
Bolloré will be JLR CEO Sir Ralf Speth, who will assume the role of non-executive vice president.
He takes a JLR in the face of a transparent crisis, Land Rover shamefully surpasses the Jaguar logo and loses money.
Hit by the Covid-19 pandemic when its sales and market percentage declined even under advertising conditions, JLR has massive overcapacity in production and a proliferation of vehicle platforms.
He won the World Car of the Year award in his all-electric Jaguar I-Pace (and F-Pace combustion), Speth has delayed the launch of his electric vehicle, the flagship limousine XJ, until the end of 2021.
Its finances have also been outperformed by the pandemic, while its own-designed engines struggle to compete with JLR’s German rivals for noise, vibration, hardness, functionality and economy.
Bolloré will register for JLR with wide-eyed eyes, as it has parachuted into one of the largest global industry crises in recent history.
The former Michelin tire manager left in the midst of a war in the convention halls as CEO on January 24, 2019 between Frenchman Renault and Japan’s Nissan following the arrest of Carlos Ghosn.
Ghosn had planned to withdraw Nissan from its alliance with Renault through officially taking him into the French car manufacturer’s business when he was arrested on charges of monetary misconduct.
Close to Ghosn in a company looking past the former kingpin, Bolloré was in an untenable position and was pushed out on October 11, 2019.
Bolloré is: “an established global business leader with a proven track record of implementing complex transformations who will bring a wealth of experience to one of the most revered positions in the industry,” according to Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the Chairman of JLR’s parent company, Tata.
By the time Bolloré arrived to clean up the mess at Renault, its share price had fallen from €98.75 in April, 2018 to €61.16.
It fell back to 53.40 euros at the time he deported (he called it a “coup d’éature”) and has since fallen to 24.89 euros.
Nissan, on the other hand, has from 669 euros from Bolloré to 424 euros today.
“It will be a privilege for me to lead this company through what remains the most challenging era of our generation,” Bolloré said in a statement.
While Bolloré left Renault, JLR cut some of its 40,000 jobs towards a pre-tax loss of $543 million for the year ending March 31, 2020.
He has enacted his stimulus package, adding to secure a $700 million credit facility with Chinese lenders when the Covid-19 pandemic led to an economic crisis.
While Land Rover (apart from Discovery) and its Range Rover sub-brands are well opposed to its German and Asian rivals, Jaguar has done very well.
Jaguar sold 28,288 cars in the first quarter of the year, and its business fell 42.6% at the start of the Covid-19.
JLR 140,593 Jaguars in the last fiscal year (22% less) and 368,066 Land Rovers (7.7% less).
JLR sold more than one million cars in its last fiscal year and Speth took steps to electrify it more quickly, with a maximum of more than 2000 kg.
Jaguar sells the E-Pace, I-Pace and F-Pace soft roaders, the XE and XF sedans (the XJ flagship also limps on) and the F-Type sports car. All use different architectures.
Land Rover, on the other hand, sells the just-launched Defender replacement, the Discovery, Discovery Sport and the Range Rover Evoque, Velar, Sport and Vogue models.
I have been testing cars and writing about the car business for more than 25 years. My career began in daily newspapers and developed into editorship of two automotive
I have been testing cars and writing about the car business for more than 25 years. My career began in daily newspapers and developed into editorship of two automotive magazines. I’ve been based in Italy as a freelancer for more than a decade, covering the European car business, with a focus on product testing and product development for readers around the world. I judge the good and bad in cars how they perform their intended functions at their price points for their target customers against all of their competitors. I hold no short or long positions in the car industry, primarily because it could only compromise the integrity of my work, so my written positions are a condensation of available data mixed with about four full product cycles worth of experience.