ZhiJie Automobile didn't wait for ZHAO Ming, but waited for ZHAO Changjiang.
Three months after leaving BYD, Zhao Changjiang finally found a new job.
Today, Zhao Changjiang officially announced on Weibo that he has joined Hongmeng Zhixing - ZJ Auto. He will work with the team whole - heartedly to build a truly user - centered global benchmark intelligent brand. His Weibo verification shows that he serves as the Executive Director and Executive Vice President of ZJ Auto.
In fact, there are signs of Zhao Changjiang's joining ZJ Auto. On January 9th, Yu Chengdong, the chairman of Huawei Terminal BG, announced on Weibo that the first flagship MPV of Hongmeng Zhixing, the ZJ V9, will be officially unveiled in spring. Soon after, Zhao Changjiang reposted the Weibo and hyped up the ZJ V9, saying that "the industry always needs some products to raise the ceiling of imagination."
Some netizens asked Zhao Changjiang in the comment section how he evaluated the ZJ V9. He replied, "Conservatively estimated, it will have no rivals in three years." It's not hard to see that Zhao Changjiang is quite confident about the ZJ V9. This bold statement also implies his close connection with ZJ Auto, which makes people wonder. Unexpectedly, four days later, Zhao Changjiang officially appeared in his new role as the Executive Vice President of ZJ Auto.
It's worth mentioning that when Zhao Changjiang officially announced his joining of ZJ Auto, he also publicly mentioned his former employer, BYD, saying that he was grateful for BYD's careful cultivation. Data shows that Zhao Changjiang joined BYD in 2009. He was promoted from a regional sales manager to the general manager of BYD Auto Sales Co., Ltd. In 2021, he began to prepare BYD's high - end brand and took over the Denza brand department in the same year.
According to my observation, the turning point in Zhao Changjiang's fate at BYD occurred in July last year. At that time, he was transferred from the general manager of the Denza sales department to the general manager of the Denza Fangchengbao direct - sales department, and Li Hui was transferred from the general manager of the Denza Fangchengbao direct - sales department to the general manager of the Denza sales department. Regarding the job swap of the two, BYD officially stated that this decision aims to empower different business segments with diversified management experience, enhance organizational vitality, and cope with the increasingly fierce competition in the automotive market.
Unexpectedly, after serving as the general manager of the Denza Fangchengbao direct - sales department for only a little over three months, Zhao Changjiang left BYD, where he had worked hard for 16 years, for personal reasons. "Sixteen years of hard work and moving forward. I'm grateful to General Manager Wang (Wang Chuanfu) and the company for their tolerance and cultivation, and also thank you all for your strong support. I'll always be grateful. Now I'm leaving temporarily, hoping to find a new rhythm between work and life."
Zhao Changjiang's hasty departure after being transferred made people wonder about the real reason behind it, and the answer lies in Denza's market performance. In the first half of last year, Denza's cumulative sales reached 79,830 units, a year - on - year increase of 34%, and the average transaction price reached 381,000 yuan. Among them, the Denza D9 performed extremely well. In June, its sales reached 9,848 units, achieving six consecutive monthly sales championships and winning the championship of MPV sales in the Chinese market in the first half of last year.
However, the performance of other models under Denza was uneven. The monthly sales of the Denza N9, targeting the high - end large SUV market, were only about 5,000 units. The Z9 series only sold 6,551 units in half a year, and the sales of the N7 were as low as a pitiful 1,495 units. Although Denza's overall sales increased in the first half of last year, it only completed 26.6% of the annual target of 300,000 units and faced considerable growth pressure later.
It's not hard to see that under Zhao Changjiang's leadership, Denza's sales steadily increased, and it firmly established itself in the high - end market above 300,000 yuan. However, the sales of some models need to be improved, and new models urgently need to break through. In short, Denza's progress is obvious to all, but it did not meet BYD's senior management's expectations and still had a large gap with the established goal. They were unwilling to give Zhao Changjiang more time to prove himself and tried to quickly activate Denza by changing the leadership.
For Zhao Changjiang, after being transferred, he lost the stage to continue to show his abilities. Maybe he was not suitable for the new position, so it was only a matter of time before he left. Therefore, you can see that he left BYD dejectedly in October last year, which is really a pity. Of course, as the second brand of Hongmeng Zhixing, ZJ Auto's trends are also highly anticipated. In August last year, Huawei and Chery officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement for ZJ Auto 2.0 in Shenzhen, and Yu Chengdong and Yin Tongyue, the head of Chery, attended the signing ceremony.
To put it simply, there are three core contents in the ZJ Auto 2.0 stage: First, ZJ Auto will invest over 10 billion yuan and increase its R & D team to 5,000 people to strengthen its technological leading edge; Second, the ZJ Auto New Energy Company was established, operating independently with integrated production, sales, and service to continuously provide better service experiences; Third, multiple blockbuster new products will be launched one after another, injecting strong impetus into the long - term development of the brand with a richer product matrix.
It's obvious to anyone with a discerning eye that ZJ Auto is about to enter a new stage of development, and it's no exaggeration to describe it as "taking off." In order to better implement the new strategy, ZJ Auto urgently needs a fierce general with rich experience in winning battles to escort it. So the outside world turned its attention to Zhao Ming, who came from Huawei and had left Honor, and the rumor that Zhao Ming would join ZJ Auto emerged.
In response, Zhao Ming denied it, saying, "I don't know about all these rumors." Now, the management team of ZJ Auto is becoming clearer. Instead of waiting for Zhao Ming, they waited for Zhao Changjiang. And the ZJ V9, which he is full of confidence in, is ready to go. It may go head - to - head with the Denza D9, which he once managed. The Denza D9 sold 103,460 units in 2025, winning the MPV sales championship for three consecutive years and becoming the world's first new - energy MPV with a delivery volume exceeding 300,000 units.
When the ZJ V9, which is conservatively estimated to have no rivals in three years, meets the Denza D9, which has been leading for three years, this battle for the MPV championship is destined to be full of highlights, and it's still unknown who will win. Let's wait and see. For Zhao Changjiang, this is also his present self competing against his past self. Maybe he is both excited and nervous.
In fact, not only is there a competition between ZJ Auto and Denza, but also a fierce battle is underway between Chery and BYD. It's gratifying that in the automotive circle where smear campaigns and verbal battles are prevalent, Chery and BYD are engaged in a healthy competition of catching up with each other. In 2023, Yin Tongyue boasted that "by mid - 2024, Chery will return to the top three in the new - energy field, and by the end of the year, it will become the second in the new - energy industry and catch up with Wang Chuanfu."
In June 2024, at the 2024 China Auto Chongqing Forum, Li Yunfei, the general manager of BYD's brand and public relations department, publicly praised Chery. He said that Chery's growth rate in the first half of the year was very fast, exceeding BYD in many aspects. Moreover, Chery's new - generation products are very good, and its marketing is also doing well. "Chery will accelerate the launch of new products in the next two years. I hope Chery can catch up with BYD, become the second in China, and get closer to BYD. The closer, the better, because Chery can help BYD share some of the pressure."
Obviously, the joining of Zhao Changjiang, a battle - tested marketing general, will inject more impetus into the development of ZJ Auto. It's foreseeable that with the strong rise of brands like ZJ Auto, Chery will become a strong rival that BYD cannot ignore. The competition between them will become more and more intense, and the final outcome will be decided by the market and users. Which side do you think will win?
This article is from the WeChat official account "Gong Jinhui," author: Gong Jinhui. It is published by 36Kr with permission.