By ZHOU Shuqi
The word is that a game of musical chairs is going on at Chinese EV startup XPeng. Personnel changes are underway. Several senior heads are said to have already rolled.
LIU Minghui was vice president of Xpeng’s power assembly. He’s gone. The former head of HR LIAO Qinghong has also been shown the door. XIA Heng and HE Tao, both founders of Xpeng, are being optimized. Xia has been sent to oversee components and parts, while He has vanished from the scene.
In its response to Jiemian News, Xpeng denied all of the above. All four men are still smiling bravely out from the XPeng website.
Insiders say Liu left Xpeng in February. Liao’s name can still be found in the company’s register sheet, there is not a single meeting scheduled for him. He and Xia have been marginalized for quite a while.
In January, XPeng named WANG Fengying as president. Wang previously worked for Great Wall Motor for more than three decades rising from a saleswoman to general manager, and has a different view on Xpeng’s products and sales plans. Responsibilities previously held by Liao and He are now in Wang’s hands.
In his year-end summary, XPeng founder and CEO HE Xiaoping said some departments were inefficient and bureaucratic with senior managers leaving everything to their subordinates.
Last year, XPeng’s ranking of sales volume among Chinese EV makers slid to 12th from seventh. In the first two months of this year, XPeng sold 11,200 cars, down by 41.4 percent year on year.
