Former Renault Alpine Boss to Lead JLR’s Special Vehicle Unit

Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. has hired Michael van der Sande to head its Special Vehicle Operations.

Van der Sande most recently was the managing director of the Alpine sub-brand launched by Renault SA in 2016. He previously was a senior vice president in charge of Renault’s marketing efforts, and he held leadership roles at Aston Martin, Tesla, Harley-Davidson and Nissan.

At JLR van der Sande will succeed John Edwards, who will retire in June after a 27-year career with the company. Edwards has helmed SVO since the performance group’s formation four years ago. The unit is responsible for such vehicles as the Jaguar F-Type SVR, Range Rover SV Coupe and SVAutobiography.

Van der Sande’s departure from Alpine follows that of former chief engineer David Twohig. Earlier this month Twohig joined Chinese electric vehicle startup Future Mobility Corp.’s new Byton brand.