Xpeng brings on new president to improve sales

The Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng has strengthened its team with an experienced automotive manager. Fengying Wang joined Xpeng as president on January 30, where she will be responsible for product planning and sales, which have been flagging recently.

Fengying Wang will report directly to He Xiaopeng, the company’s chairman and CEO. Fengying Wang previously spent over 30 years working for Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motor, working her way up through sales functions to various management positions. Wang has an excellent reputation in the Chinese auto industry.

Although the annual figures for 2022 are not yet available, it was already apparent when the Q3 figures were announced that Xpeng was experiencing a weak second half of the year. In the third quarter, for example, sales dropped significantly compared to Q2, and the P5 model, which has been technically developed into the big P7, had to record declines in particular.

The first new models are already in the pipeline: Xpeng is planning two new and three revised models in China this year. In Europe, the launch of two more models is imminent – apparently the large sedan P7 and the large electric SUV G9. In China, meanwhile, the G7, an electric SUV coupe, is among the models slated to debut.

“Her leadership and expertise have been instrumental in driving the development of some of the most successful auto products, earning her remarkable industry recognition,” He Xiaopeng said. “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.”

Incidentally, there were already rumors in China a few weeks ago surrounding a move from Wang to Xpeng. At that time, however, it was still said that the Great Wall manager was to replace He Xiaopeng as CEO. It has not come to that (yet).

cnevpost.com, xiaopeng.com (PDF)