If Land Rover can really start to get their ratings up in quality & reliability they really could be unstoppable.  With their continued record breaking sales, their real Achilles heel is the poor ratings they get year after year from J.D. Power & the like.  Imagine where they’d be if they could come out on the top of that list.  Let’s hope Dr. Mertens can make that happen – especially with the launch of the updated & new models over the next few years.

And here’s the official press release:

Peter Mertens has joined Jaguar Land Rover as Director, Quality and the Automotive Safety Office.

Dr. Mertens, who takes up his position with immediate effect, will assume global responsibility for Jaguar Land Rover’s quality and safety performance. He reports directly to Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ralf Speth.

With more than 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, Peter has worked in a wide variety of roles including product development and aftersales engineering at Mercedes Benz and more recently as Global Vehicle Line Executive at General Motors.

"Jaguar and Land Rover have an incredibly exciting future that I am very pleased to be a part of. Quality and safety are absolute priorities and my task is to take the standard even higher," commented Mertens.

Following an apprenticeship as a toolmaker Mertens completed a Masters in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the United States. He later went on to complete his doctorate in Production Engineering and Industrial Engineering at the University of Kaiserslautern.

He is 49 years old and married with three children.