The designer behind Jaguar’s controversial rebrand has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding on Chelsea Embankment.
Gerry McGovern, 71, of Warwickshire, was caught driving his Land Rover at 25mph on Chelsea Embankment, London, on 9 December 2025. He admitted being the driver but failed to pay a fixed penalty notice issued in January.
Mr McGovern’s case was handled privately through the single justice procedure on 23 October at Willesden Magistrates’ Court. In addition to the driving ban, he was fined £220 and ordered to pay £218 in costs and a victim surcharge.
24 years at Jaguar Land Rover
Mr McGovern served as chief design officer at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) for 24 years and was the company’s chief design officer when Jaguar revealed a series of dramatic branding changes in November 2024, which included a new logo and marketing slogans. He was reported to have left JLR in December 2024.
The rebrand he oversaw included the stylised “JaGUar” logo and slogans such as “delete ordinary” and “live vivid”. A video promoting the refreshed brand prompted backlash among some 120,000 comments. Elon Musk, the largest individual shareholder in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, questioned the video with the comment: “Do you sell cars?” Jaguar replied “Yes”, with an invitation to an event in Miami.
The ban is a reminder that even a single unpaid fixed penalty can escalate: what began as a 25mph speeding matter ended, through the failure to pay the January notice, in a court case and a six-month disqualification. The case follows a guilty plea over the Berkeley Square knife attack and a Wandsworth bus passenger jailed after a false suicide vest claim — a busy week for the capital’s courts.
