Xpeng Appoints Former Great Wall Motor Executive As President

On Monday, China's Xpeng Inc announced the appointment of Wang Fengying, the former vice-chairman of Great Wall Motor, as president of the electric vehicle (EV) start-up. Wang will be in charge of Xpeng's product planning, product portfolio management, and sales operations, according to a statement from the company. She will report to He Xiaopeng, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.

Wang, 52, previously worked for Great Wall Motor in Baoding, Hebei, for over 30 years and is one of the few experienced female leaders in China's automobile industry. She had also served as a National People's Congress delegate since 2008, and she frequently submitted policy proposals to the central government to improve China's auto industry, such as encouraging auto chip development and optimising factory output capacity utilisation.

Wang joins Xpeng at a time when the EV sector is facing increased competition and price war tensions following Tesla's price cuts for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles earlier this month. Xpeng and Huawei-backed EV brand Aito have followed Tesla's lead and raised prices on their most popular models.