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More than a week after reports claimed the executive overseeing the design of Jaguar's controversial Type 00 concept was sacked, the UK car maker has denied terminating his employment.
Jaguar Land Rover has refuted reports – more than a week after they were published – that it has sacked long-time design chief Gerry McGovern.
A statement issued by the UK car giant to media outlets such as Motor1 denies a report by Autocar and Autocar India earlier this month that McGovern, a 20-year company veteran, was "escorted out of the office" and "terminated with immediate effect".
"It is untrue we have terminated Gerry McGovern’s employment and we do not intend to further comment on speculative stories," the Jaguar Land Rover statement reads.
The JLR statement does not say that McGovern has not left the firm of his own accord, but denies that he was terminated. It is not clear why it took 10 days for the comment to be issued.
McGovern is attributed to overseeing the design of the past two decades of Land Rover models, from successive generations of Range Rovers to the reborn Land Rover Defender in 2019.
His reach has also covered Jaguar design since 2013, and oversaw the styling of the controversial Type 00 concept that previews the marque's reboot as a maker of much more expensive electric cars.
The Type 00 was the star of a maligned advertising campaign to accompany Jaguar's relaunch, which showcased unconventionally-dressed models and graphics in place of cars, and has even been the subject of criticism from US President Donald Trump.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
