Wolfgang Reitzle (69) and Ralf Speth (63) have liked each other for many years. Where the elder worked, the younger wanted to be. So it happened at BMW, later at the gas manufacturer Linde, in the meantime at Ford’s Premier Automotive Group (PAG), which collected brands such as Jaguar and later Land Rover. Never was the cast of roles in question, Reitzle was the master, Speth his sorcerer’s apprentice. Until the day in February 2010, when industrial engineer Speth took over the management of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Speth conjured up all alone, only occasionally advised by the strategist from Munich.
It went well, very well even. The Jaguar F-Type was reminiscent of large sports car times, but above all, the SUVs found rapid sales. Land Rover and Range Rover served the need for automotive defenses. New models such as the Evoque, a boldly designed compact SUV, multiplied the paragraph. The company, owned by the Indian Tata family, rose from the bankruptcy candidate