JLR’s Incoming CEO Shrugs Off Trump’s Swipe at Rebrand
Jaguar Land Rover’s P.B. Balaji says customer response, not political commentary, will guide the company’s brand strategy, brushing off Trump’s 'Woke' jibe.
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Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR’s) next chief executive, P.B. Balaji, isn’t losing sleep over US President Donald Trump’s opinion of the company’s new brand direction.
The US president had slammed JLR’s latest campaign as a “seriously WOKE advertisement” and claimed the automaker was “in absolute turmoil.”
Balaji’s response?
Keep the focus on customers.
“The cars are being revealed, they’re getting exciting responses from the customers on the ground. Therefore, that’s what the strategy is,” he said on 8 August, speaking to reporters after JLR’s quarterly earnings announcement.
Currently chief financial officer of Tata Motors Ltd, Balaji will step into the CEO role at JLR in November, succeeding Adrian Mardell, who announced his retirement earlier this month.
Balaji also pushed back on drawing big conclusions from a single quarter. “You need to compare our numbers vis-à-vis how others are delivering,” he said, underscoring that market context matters.
JLR’s second-quarter results showed underlying pre-tax profits down 49% year-on-year to £351 million, with US tariffs and lingering supply chain snags weighing on performance.
Trump had tied the brand’s ad campaign to Mardell’s exit, but the outgoing CEO called his departure a natural transition after “a great privilege” leading the company “during a time of incredible change.”
