Chinese premium EV maker Xpeng brings in Great Wall Motor veteran Wang Fengying in bid for mass-market supremacy
- Wang was behind Great Wall’s rise as mainland China’s largest SUV maker
- Xpeng can tap Wang’s experience and vision to attract its target customers, analyst says
Wang, 53, was behind Great Wall’s rise as mainland China’s largest sport-utility vehicle (SUV) maker. She resigned as general manager from the Hebei province-based carmaker in July last year. Wang started out as a front-line sales employee at the age of 21 before advancing to various leadership positions, including vice chairwoman, in a career that spanned more than 30 years. During her tenure, Great Wall became the first Chinese brand to export China-made vehicles, with a 200-unit shipment of its SUVs to Belgium in 2005, two years after she became CEO.
At Xpeng, she will be responsible for product planning, product portfolio management and sales operations, the carmaker said in a statement on Monday. She will report to He Xiaopeng, the EV maker’s co-founder and CEO.
“Ms Wang brings to us over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, spanning roles in sales, strategy and senior management,” He said in the statement. “We look forward to working with Ms Wang to further elevate our product portfolio, leveraging her distinguished experience and deep industry knowledge to accelerate the smart EV transition.”
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Her appointment also reflects Xpeng’s efforts to develop affordable intelligent battery-powered vehicles for China’s middle-class consumers. The carmaker, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding – this newspaper’s parent – and smartphone maker Xiaomi, is viewed as China’s best response to Tesla along with Shanghai headquartered-Nio and Beijing-based Li Auto.