AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)08/09 Report--

On August 9, SAIC General Motors announced that Lu Xiao, former deputy general manager of the Pan Asia Automobile Technology Center, had succeeded Zhuang Jingxiong as general manager of SAIC GM after the decision of the party committee of SAIC Group. Wang Conghe, former deputy general manager of Pan-Asia Automotive Technology Center, took over the post of Executive Deputy General Manager of Pan-Asia Automotive Technology Center.

Cai Bin, former assistant president of SAIC Group, rejoined SAIC General Motors as party committee secretary of SAIC General Motors. At the same time, Xue Haitao, former deputy general manager of SAIC GM Wuling, replaced Lu Yi as deputy general manager of the company, responsible for marketing related work.

According to official public information, Zhuang Jingxiong is a SAIC GM veteran who has participated in the formation of SAIC GM and has held leadership positions in a number of important positions. In 2019, Zhuang Jingxiong was transferred to SAIC General Motors and served as Deputy Director and Director of SAIC President's Office and General Manager of Group quality and Economic Operations. Since 2021, Zhuang Jingxiong has been the CEO of Shanghai Saike Travel Technology Service Co., Ltd. In November 2022, when SAIC General Motors was facing the critical period of accelerating the transformation of electrification and intelligent network, Zhuang Jingxiong returned and joined SAIC General Motors as deputy general manager and general manager of SAIC General Motors sales Co., Ltd.

In May 2023, SAIC General Motors announced that Zhuang Jingxiong, former SAIC GM Deputy General Manager, would take over as SAIC GM General Manager. After taking office, Zhuang Jingxiong established SAIC GM Software and Digital Center, and adjusted the software team of the Pan Asia Automotive Technology Center established by SAIC and GM to the center.

The new successor, Lu Xiao, is a SAIC veteran who has led the research and development of important models such as Buick Regal, LaCrosse and Chevrolet Malibu, becoming the first Chinese chief engineer on GM's global platform.

In 1997, General Motors and SAIC jointly funded the establishment of a joint venture SAIC General Motors in China. Since then, it has successively laid out three major brands of Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac, and has four major production bases in Shanghai, Yantai, Shenyang and Wuhan. A total of four vehicle production plants.

However, judging from the sales data, SAIC GM has not had a comfortable life in the domestic market in recent years. SAIC GM's sales fell 12.13% and 14.45% from 2022 to 2023, down 12.13% and 14.45% from a year earlier, according to official figures, nearly halving from its peak in 2017.

In 2024, SAIC General Motors has not stopped falling. SAIC GM sold 240600 vehicles from January to July, down 55.14 per cent from a year earlier, of which July sales fell 82.42 per cent to 15000. Judging from the overall sales data, SAIC General Motors is the brand with the highest decline in sales both in July and in the year.

In this personnel change, another brand involved in personnel change is SAIC GM Wuling. It is understood that Xue Haitao, who took over as deputy general manager of SAIC GM Wuling, was born in 1982 and joined SAIC GM Wuling in 2007. He is particularly good at marketing. He has served as SAIC GM Wuling Administrative and Public Relations Director, sales Company Marketing and Network Director, Deputy General Manager of sales Company, General Manager of sales Company and SAIC GM Wuling Deputy General Manager and other positions. In June 2016, Xue became general manager of SAIC GM Wuling sales Company. As a sales expert, Xue Haitao made a great contribution to SAIC GM Wuling, not only creating popular "magic cars" such as Hongguang MINIEV and Wuling colorful fruit, but also promoting the new energy transformation and development of Wuling brand.

It is understood that since 2012, SAIC GM Wuling has achieved the goal of selling millions of vehicles annually for many years with the two major brands of Wuling and Baojun. In July 2020, Wuling Hongguang MINIEV went public. With its ultra-low price of RMB 2.88-38800, its small and cute appearance and the aura of the Wuling brand, the minicar was rekindled and became the best-selling single model for two years in a row. Wuling Fruit went on sale in March 2023, with a price of RMB5.98-83800 at that time, and now it has become another popular model of SAIC GM Wuling after Hongguang MinIEV.

SAIC GM Wuling sold 646000 vehicles from January to July, up 2.31% from a year earlier, with most of the sales coming from Hongguang MINIEV and Wuling colorful fruit, according to official figures. Retail data show that from January to July this year, Hongguang MINIEV sold 99100 vehicles and Wuling colorful fruit 82500. From the intuitive data, it is not difficult to see that the Hongguang MINIEV and Wuling colorful fruit launched by SAIC GM Wuling are indeed successful.

With the rapid rise of independent brands and the intensification of market competition, joint venture brands are generally facing challenges. For SAIC General Motors, accelerating the electrified transformation will be its next important issue. According to the plan, SAIC General Motors plans to launch 12 new new energy models between 2024 and 2025, including Altenon pure electric models and a new generation of PHEV smart plug-in models.

As for whether SAIC GM's sales will be boosted after this personnel reshuffle and the subsequent introduction of more new cars, the market may soon give the answer.

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