Michael van der Sande was appointed managing director of JLR Special Vehicle Operations in 2018, having previously held senior positions at Alpine, Renault, Aston Martin, Tesla, Harley-Davidson, Bentley and Nissan.
Here, he talks to us about how SVO sits within the wider JLR business, its main areas of operations and his excitement for the future as the firm moves to a more high-end position and the industry transitions towards electrification.
Can you explain Special Vehicle Operations for us?
“We tend to do the cool stuff that doesn't fit into a large, more volume-based manufacturing process and that really leverages the emotional connection between the customer and the car to do something even more special.