JAGUAR and Land Rover have a new corporate operations manager following a restructuring that will see stronger back-office links between Ford's Premier Automotive Group brands.

James Drake-Lee moves into the corporate operations department after three years with Jaguar as product marketing plans manager, deciding pricing and specification of UK models.

Drake-Lee set prices and specification for the new XJ range, ensuring the entry-level car, the 3.0-litre XJ6, had lower benefit-in-kind tax liability than the diesel Mercedes-Benz S-class, despite running on petrol.

Land Rover's previous corporate sales manager, Dave Easton, remains with the brand, while Drake-Lee's predecessor at Jaguar, John Able, has moved to Mazda Motors Europe.

Drake-Lee said at the press launch of the new Jaguar XJ: 'The brands are not joining forces, but in a few selected areas which will not affect the way a user-chooser sees both Jaguar and Land Rover, we will deal with both brands together.'