Mardell has been with Jaguar Land Rover, which is seen as the cash cow for Tata Motors, for more than three decades. Balaji has been Tata Motors' group chief financial officer since late 2017. His appointment is effective in November.

Balaji will take over from JLR veteran Adrian Mardell in September, who, in his three years as CEO, oversaw the elimination of £5 billion in debt, achieved decadal high profits, and had the best ever operational performance.

The Board of Directors of JLR, at its meeting held on August 4, has approved the appointment of P B Balaji to succeed Adrian Mardell as the CEO of JLR.