Gerry McGovern has spoken exclusively to Autocar for the first time about his shock departure from JLR – and pledged to return to car design in the future.

In his 24-year stint at the British firm, during which he rose to the role of chief creative officer, McGovern led the design of the reborn Defender and several generations of Range Rover and Discovery models. He was also responsible for the controversial Jaguar Type 00 electric concept.

Autocar exclusively reported McGovern’s abrupt departure from JLR last December, but it took until March this year for the move to be officially announced by the firm – prompting speculation about whether he had quit or been sacked.

McGovern is now serving as an advisor to Norton Motorcycles, and spoke exclusively to Autocar for the My Week in Car podcast (listen below).

As well as explaining the reasons for his departure, describing the rumours as “all pretty inaccurate”, he insisted that his car design career isn't finished.

“I want to do new stuff,” he said, “and I’m aware there are many opportunities out there. I’ve had a lot of approaches. I’m very particular about what I want and who I work with. But I’m definitely going to do more cars. They’re in my blood.”

McGovern also spoke to Autocar’s Steve Cropley and Matt Prior about his career and rise through the car industry, the challenge of developing brand identity and the shift from designing cars to designing motorbikes.

You can listen to the full chat above or read the interview exclusively online on our Apple News+ channel. You can also read it in this week’s Autocar magazine, which is available on news stands or as a digital edition.