Best Of Both Worlds

A model for Chinese–British joint ventures, premium vehicle manufacturer Chery Jaguar Land Rover is thriving under President Murray Dietsch.

- Daniel Herborn

It’s been such a positive experience for me coming back to China,” Murray Dietsch, President of Chery Jaguar Land Rover (CJLR) begins. “Just working here, in the most rapidly expanding market in the world, has been exciting and a real challenge.”

The role that brought Australian-born Murray back to China in late 2015 was managing the first Sino-British premium vehicle joint venture, a 50–50 partnership between Chinese auto manufacturer Chery Automobile and the UK’s Jaguar Land Rover.

Prior to taking up his current role, Murray had a quarter century’s worth of experience in the industry, spanning strategic development, personnel management, research and development, and engineering in positions in India, the UK, Australia and China.

Most recently, Murray spent seven years as Vehicle Line Director of Jaguar Land Rover and oversaw the launch of more than 30 new models or upgrades. He looks back on the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport with particular pride. “The Evoque was an iconic all-new vehicle that was effectively creating the premium small luxury SUV segment,” he enthuses. “I was one of the first people on that program and I was happy to be responsible for the project all the way through. You could call it my baby, I guess.”

The Discovery Sport was also special as one of the foundational projects of the joint venture. It has since become an enduring success and the company recently produced its 100,000th Discovery Sport in China.

“The Vehicle Line Director role was a fantastic learning experience,” Murray says. “You learn much more than just product development, but how to harness all areas of the business, design, marketing, research and finance teams – how to make sure the vehicle lines are profitable, how to comply with manufacturing requirements and how to maximise the delivery of quality through the whole process.”