Jeffrey AronsonAs of March 30, Gerry McGovern (OBE, D.A.) ended his two decades with JLR to establish his own design consultancy. The Chief Design Officer at Jaguar Land Rover had a widely reported clash with the new CEO, PB Balaji in November 2025, which signaled this likely change.
McGovern worked with Chrysler, Ford and Austin Rover before beginning with Land Rover in 2004. He had his hand in the Freelander, LR4, Discovery 5, Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover and, of course, the Defender. In 2020, he became the Chief Design Officer for Land Rover and Jaguar.
Gerry found inspiration in his studies of 20th century modern architecture, its elegant simplicity and functionality. He told us that design extends far beyond styling to embrace engineering and purpose. In an interview at the 2019 global launch of the second-generation Evoque, he stated, “Design represents the values of the marque.” Whatever your opinion of McGovern’s designs – most of which sold well worldwide – JLR’s impact on the automotive industry, production totals and profitability rose during his tenure.
JLR has issued a recall on 170,000 vehicles with MHEV Ingenium motors. The models involved are:
- Defender, 2020–2024
- Discovery, 2021–2024
- Discovery Sport, 2020
- Range Rover Evoque, 2020–2023
- Range Rover Velar, 2021–2024
- Range Rover Sport, 2019–2024
- Range Rover, 2020–2024
The recall is due to the failure of the DC-DC converter. Land Rover tech Harrison Preston, of Preston Classics in Maine, explained that the module steps down the 48V system to 12v to power routine automotive functions. Since the converter acts in place of an alternator, the electronic demand from the engine and instruments will quickly drain the 12v battery, rapidly disabling the vehicle. JLR will send out recall notices for a hardware and/or software fix.
[Recalls in 2026 have also challenged competitors such as Jeep (450,000 vehicles), BMW (146,000) and Mercedes (35,000). Ford has issued 33 recall notices this year for over 9 million vehicles – ed.]
The Range Rover Sport celebrates its 20th anniversary, and JLR has announced the Range Rover Sport TWENTY, a tribute to the Range Rover Stormer prototype. Driven by a 4.4L Twin Turbo V8, this special edition includes seating, heating, cooling and audio derived from the Range Rover SV.
JLR has sold over 321,000 Range Rover Sports through 2025; it was JLR’s biggest seller in the US until 2023 when the Defender displaced it.
All 2026 Defenders, Discoverys and Range Rovers feature new trim and option packages, some quite useful (Defender 110 Trophy, Defender 130 Outbound), some decorative (Discovery Tempest and Gemini) and/or sumptious.
On the Jaguar side, a 2026 F-Pace remains available while the controversial electric-power model continues to undergo testing. The “Type 01” will likely appear as a 2027 model. ///
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