In the automotive industry, 48 executives changed positions within a month, and the top leaders of 10 brands were replaced. Changan had the most significant reshuffle.
48 senior executives' positions were adjusted in 3 weeks, and 9 major Chinese independent automakers carried out collective reshuffles.
A new round of personnel hurricane has swept through the automotive industry. According to incomplete statistics from CheDongXi, in the first three weeks of September, 13 automakers adjusted the positions of their senior executives.
Among them are 9 major domestic independent automakers, namely BYD, Geely, Great Wall, Changan, GAC, Dongfeng, Li Auto, NIO, and Xiaomi. Meanwhile, news of personnel adjustments has also emerged from overseas automakers and joint - venture brands such as Tesla, Mercedes - Benz, FAW Audi, and Renault Group.
In this personnel storm, 10 brand leaders changed their positions. In terms of the number of personnel involved, Changan, Li Auto, and Renault had the most frequent changes.
What's more noteworthy is that during this process, there have been a series of personnel dramas in the automotive industry: some post - 80s new leaders have taken up the leadership of brands, an 85 - post vice - president has started to recruit postgraduate students, a CEO was fired in advance and left dejectedly, and some retired senior executives were "invited for tea". The frequency and intensity of these personnel "earthquakes" reflect the fierce competition in the automotive industry during the golden period of the "Golden September and Silver October" car market.
Changes in the positions of senior executives in the automotive industry in the first three weeks of September 2025
01. Changan replaced 9 senior executives in a month, and GAC faced another major personnel "upheaval"
In the first three weeks of September, three major state - owned automobile groups, Changan, Dongfeng, and GAC, witnessed a round of intensive personnel reshuffles.
1. The new management hierarchy of Changan was established, and the leaders of 6 brands changed
After the official establishment of China Changan Automobile Group in July this year, it has continuously improved its management organizational structure, becoming the state - owned automobile enterprise with the most intensive personnel adjustments in September. Within about a month, the positions of 9 senior executives changed.
According to relevant reports, at present, Chairman Zhu Huarong, General Manager Zhao Fei, Deputy Secretary Tan Benhong, and five other senior executives constitute the highest management level of China Changan Automobile Group.
Zhu Huarong, Chairman of China Changan Automobile Group
At the Changan Automobile level, Ye Pei was promoted to Executive Vice - President, and Mi Mengdong was promoted to Vice - President of the company; at the business segment level of each brand, Wang Xiaofei took charge of Changan Ford, Yang Dayong was in charge of Qiyuan and Yinli, Wang Hui became the Chairman of Avatr Technology, Deng Chenghao was promoted to Chairman of Deepal Automobile, Jiang Hairong was appointed as CEO, Dong Chenrui was appointed as President of Kaicheng, and Lan Xiangwen was promoted to Vice - Chairman.
Wang Hui, Chairman of Avatr (Image source: Internet)
Overall, this series of changes are expected to enable independent brands such as Avatr and Qiyuan, as well as joint - venture businesses such as Changan Ford, to achieve greater decision - making flexibility.
It is worth mentioning that Changan Automobile's personnel adjustments tend to be precisely arranged according to the resumes and abilities of senior executives. For example, Changan appointed Wang Hui, who has a profound overseas business background, to lead Avatr, perhaps valuing his experience in exploring the global market to support Avatr's ambition of "half of the market overseas". And the official transferred Yang Dayong back to be in charge of the Qiyuan and Yinli series, perhaps to stabilize the sales base and ensure the achievement of the annual sales target of 3 million vehicles.
Changan is putting the most suitable people on the most critical battlefields.
2. A vice - general manager of GAC left ahead of schedule, with anti - corruption and personnel reshuffle going hand in hand
On September 18, 2025, Yan Zhuangli, the vice - general manager of GAC Group, resigned ahead of schedule due to personal reasons. His original term was scheduled to end on December 31, 2025, and this departure was more than three months earlier than planned.
Yan Zhuangli, former vice - general manager of GAC Group (Image source: Internet)
In addition, multiple industry sources said that Zhang Yuesai, the retired former general manager of GAC Passenger Car, may have been taken away for investigation. Some news said that "the amount of cash seized from the former executive's home was extremely astonishing. When the investigators counted the money, they called in multiple cash - counting machines on the spot and counted for several hours."
Zhang Yuesai, former general manager of GAC Passenger Car (Image source: Internet)
GAC is carrying out anti - corruption and internal rectification to eliminate hidden dangers and reshape discipline, creating a more efficient and clean organizational environment for the upcoming tough battles.
Meanwhile, GAC has recently launched a global recruitment campaign, planning to recruit 8 core senior executives, including general managers, deputy general managers, and chief accountants. Introducing market - oriented talents is expected to improve decision - making efficiency and market response ability to meet the needs of the transformation towards new energy and intelligence.
In addition, it is reported that Yang Long, the former head of GAC Mitsubishi, has taken over as the vice - general manager of GAC Aion. This move is regarded as a key step in reforming the marketing system.
Yang Long, former head of GAC Mitsubishi (Image source: Internet)
3. Dongfeng is fighting a desperate battle, with independent brands further supporting joint - venture brands
For Dongfeng Group, the transfer of Zhang Zutong, a member of the Party Committee Standing Committee and vice - general manager, is a normal cadre exchange within state - owned enterprises. And appointing Cao Dongjie, the general manager of Dongfeng Mengshi, as the executive vice - general manager of Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. may be to use his practical experience in the new energy field to accelerate the electrification transformation of this important joint - venture segment of Dongfeng Honda.
02. The three major private automakers carried out collective reshuffles, and BYD accelerated its intelligent layout
Compared with state - owned automakers, the three major domestic private automakers had relatively fewer personnel adjustments in September this year, focusing on supplementing technical talents and optimizing the internal structure.
According to LatePost Auto, Wang Jun, the former vice - president and CTO of Zebra Intelligence, has joined BYD's intelligent cockpit team, responsible for cockpit architecture and map R & D, and reporting to Li Feng, the director of the intelligent software development center.
BYD recruited Wang Jun, the former CTO of Zebra Intelligence. The core reason may be that Wang Jun's experience in cockpit architecture design and map R & D accumulated at Zebra Intelligence just meets BYD's technical requirements in intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving.
Currently, BYD is fully promoting the integrated cockpit - driving strategy. In April this year, it integrated the assisted driving and intelligent cockpit teams and plans to launch a One - Board integrated cockpit - driving product. It is also gradually exploring cutting - edge fields such as VLA.
The technology matrix of BYD's assisted driving system, Tian Shen Zhi Yan
Wang Jun's joining is expected to accelerate BYD's technology transformation, which essentially means that BYD Group is further expanding its intelligent talent echelon.
Geely transferred Dr. Zhu Ling, the former vice - president of its ZEEKR brand, to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of Volvo Cars Asia - Pacific, which fully reflects Geely Group's tendency of "independent brands supporting joint - venture brands".
Dr. Zhu Ling, former vice - president of ZEEKR (Image source: Internet)
Currently, joint - venture brands are facing sales pressure in the electrification transformation in China and urgently need to accelerate the localization process and reduce costs.
As Geely Group's "technical confidant" who is proficient in the overall technical architecture and product development process, Zhu Ling is expected to promote Volvo to more efficiently utilize the group's supply chain, technical platform, and cost advantages, thus injecting strong impetus into revitalizing Volvo's market vitality in the Asia - Pacific region.
For Great Wall Motor, the resignation of Wu Jiawen, the joint secretary, is a normal optimization of the company's governance structure. This move is expected to simplify the decision - making process, improve the standardization and efficiency of the board of directors' operation, reflecting Great Wall Motor's high - level emphasis on the refinement and compliance of internal governance in the fierce market competition.
03. Lei Jun poached another talent from Lamborghini, and Li Auto made major adjustments to its intelligent driving department
In September, there were also frequent personnel changes among new - force automakers.
1. Lei Jun made another move to "poach talents". Six overseas senior executives have joined Xiaomi Auto this year
It was reported this month that Fabian Schmlz, the former chief exterior designer of Lamborghini, has officially joined the Xiaomi Auto team and will be responsible for leading the company's exterior design work in Europe.
Fabian Schmlz, former chief exterior designer of Lamborghini (Image source: Internet)
He previously led the exterior design of the Lamborghini Temerario and participated in important projects such as the Porsche 718 Boxster and Mission E (the prototype of the Taycan) during his tenure at Porsche.
Fabian Schmlz's previous participation in the design of Porsche models (Image source: Internet)
So far in 2025, at least six senior executives from overseas brands have been reported to have joined Xiaomi Auto.
Former senior executives of overseas automakers reported to have joined Xiaomi in 2025
From the aerodynamics expert from the Ferrari F1 team at the beginning of the year, to the four senior executives poached from BMW, including the design director, manager, and engineer, to the recent design leader from Lamborghini, Xiaomi has continuously introduced multiple design experts with international backgrounds in a short period of time. This is not only to improve the product design ability but also to learn the car - making concepts of these luxury brands, reflecting its strategic ambition to build international high - end products and accelerate going global.
