Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth to step down

The car manufacturer, which has a plant at the i54 on the edge of Wolverhampton as well as sites across the West Midlands, confirmed that Mr Speth will leave his role after 10 years in charge to become a non-executive vice chairman of the business.

His departure comes after a challenging period for the company which has axed thousands of jobs in recent years after slowing sales.

The latest batch of 500 job cuts was announced earlier this month for the company's Halewood plant in Merseyside.

As well as the engine plant in Wolverhampton, JLR has major sites at Castle Bromwich, Solihull and Stone and its headquarters are in Coventry.

Mr Speth took charge of JLR in 2010 when Tata bought the brand from Ford.

Since then he has spearheaded growth into new markets and a much wider range of vehicles.

JLR now has production plants in the US, China and further afield.

Meanwhile, JLR has introduced new models like the electric Jaguar I-Pace.

However, the company has struggled amid the US-China trade war. It was badly hit by a severe downturn in China car sales.

JLR has responded with an initiative to cut about £2.5 billion of costs, which could lead to thousands of job losses. That helped the firm return to profit last year.

Mr Speth said: "I feel very honoured to have worked with so many dedicated and creative people, both inside and outside of Jaguar Land Rover.

"We have elevated Jaguar and Land Rover. I want to say thank you for all their support and commitment."

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of JLR, Tata Motors and Tata Sons, said: "I want to thank Ralf for his passion and commitment over the last 10 years.

"Ralf developed Jaguar Land Rover from a niche UK-centric manufacturer to a respected, technological leading, global premium company."