New JLR chief dismisses criticism of Jaguar's new image

Jaguar Land Rover's incoming boss has defended Jaguar's contentious rebrand in his first statements given since being confirmed as new chief executive. PB Balaji (pictured), 54, will take the reigns at JLR from November and with it the responsibility to steer its direction and transition to EVs over the next decade.

News of his appointment last Monday came just hours after the latest in a tidal wave of criticism of Jaguar's electric reset revealed last year, which included a colourful 'copy nothing' advertising campaign featuring striking models but no cars. President Donald Trump, using the Truth Social platform, last week took aim, calling the ad and wider strategy 'stupid, and seriously woke' and a move that has left Jaguar in 'absolute turmoil'. But Balaji gave a resolute response when asked about the POTUS' comments by reporters, claiming the car maker has seen a positive response to its new image.

According to the Telegraph, he said: 'We have put our plans together, the cars are being revealed, they're getting exciting response from the customers on the ground. Therefore that's what the strategy is.' Trump's scathing attack on Jaguar stated: 'Jaguar did a stupid, and seriously WOKE advertisement, THAT IS A TOTAL DISASTER! The CEO just resigned in disgrace, and the company is in absolute turmoil. Who wants to buy a Jaguar after looking at that disgraceful ad.'

His social media attack follows similar sentiments expressed by Elon Musk and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage towards Jaguar's overhaul - the latter accusing Jaguar of going 'absolutely bonkers' and 'showing a bunch of weirdos'. Asked about Mr Trump's criticism and claims that the brand was in 'turmoil', Mr Balaji - who remains finance chief of JLR's parent group Tata Motors for another three months - said: 'You need to compare our numbers vis-à-vis how others are delivering.' Last week, it was revealed that JLR's profits had nearly halved after a 9.2 per cent (£6.6billion) drop in sales.

This was due to a combination of the company winding-up production of new Jaguars in the UK in November, and a month-long pause in Land Rover shipments to the US following Trump's initial threat of 25 per cent tariffs on incoming vehicles. After Sir Keir Starmer negotiated an improved deal of 10 per cent levies on the first 100,000 cars exported to the US annually, JLR restarted deliveries to the United States. Financial results published last week showed the group had experienced a 49.4 per cent decline in underlying profits to £351million in the three months to the end of June.

JLR said US tariffs had a 'direct and material impact on profitability and cash flow in the period'. But it added the 'US-UK trade deal will significantly reduce the financial impact of US tariffs going forward'. Balaji's move into the JLR hot seat was rubberstamped last week with the announcement that he will replace the departing Adrian Mardell at the helm of the Indian-owned British car maker.

Mardell, 64, in the last three years has played a pivotal role in the decision to Jaguar into an all-electric luxury car maker from 2026 as the iconic British marque boldly draws a line under its 90-year history with the combustion engine. The manufacturer said in July that he had 'expressed his desire to retire' having served the company in various roles for 35 years.

As well as the polarising ad campaign, the first phase of the rebrand unveiled in November 2024 included replacing Jaguar's legendary 'growler' badge with a more contemporary mirrored 'J' logo, and the unveiling of the controversial Concept 00 vehicle - a prototype that shows the design direction of its £100,000-plus premium EVs.

Mr Balaji's appointment will see JLR's parent firm Tata Motors take a more hands-on approach to the car maker, having allowed the manufacturer to operate at an arm's length since buying the company in 2008. In his role as the CFO, he has been part of the executive committee at Tata Motors and been responsible for financial performance. He has also served as a non‑executive director on the board of JLR since December 2017.