Li Pengcheng, former vice president of Xpeng Motors, joined Avita, and Wang Fengying is very likely to become the CEO of Xpeng

Reporter| Zhou Shuqi

On January 12, Interface News learned from a number of insiders that Wang Fengying, former general manager of Great Wall Motor, will have a great possibility to join the new car-making force Xpeng Motors, and the two sides have entered the final stage of discussion, but there are still uncertainties.

Some industry insiders told Interface News that the industry was surprised by the news that Wang Fengying or to join Xpeng Motors. First, Wang Fengying, as a veteran of Great Wall Motor for more than 30 years, is equivalent to a co-founder and has special influence; Second, Great Wall Motor has a strict non-compete agreement internally, and it is still doubtful whether Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor, can release people so easily.

According to interface news, Great Wall Motor's non-compete agreement time is usually two years, and its non-compete company list has a full three pages, more than 300 companies, which can be called the most and most stringent in the industry.

But at the executive level, a head of a headhunting firm told Interface News that executives with deep roots in the company can negotiate with the company's leadership to waive non-compete agreements. "Before Wang Fengying left Great Wall Motor, he had reached a consensus with Wei Jianjun and began to gradually transfer power in 2021, so Wang Fengying's choice to join other car companies has little impact on Great Wall Motor."

Another way to avoid liability for non-compete agreements is for executives to take responsibility for voluntary departure. The above-mentioned person in charge revealed that Li Pengcheng, former vice president and general manager of brand public relations of Xpeng Motors, "left the pot" in the listing decision of Xpeng G9, and was also not affected by the non-compete agreement, and has basically decided to join Avita.

Xpeng Motors responded to Interface News that the company will unswervingly continue to promote organizational changes and improve efficiency to adapt to more fierce market competition and challenges in the future. We are always open and welcoming to outstanding talents in the industry to join Xpeng. If further information is available, it will be shared with you in a timely manner.

At the same time, Xpeng Motors stressed that the company will continue to develop under the leadership of the company's founder He Xiaopeng, who will still be the highest person in charge of the company. This also means that if Wang Fengying becomes the CEO of Xpeng Motors, he may be mainly responsible for the business modules he is good at, rather than the overall situation.

Since joining Great Wall Motor in 1991, Wang Fengying has worked for Great Wall Motor for 31 years, gradually growing from a grassroots sales staff to the company's "second leader". With rich marketing experience, Wang Fengying has led Great Wall pickup trucks to rank first in the pickup truck market for many years, and established a strategy of focusing on SUVs, promoting Haval H6 to become the sales champion in China's SUV field for nearly 10 consecutive years.

In May last year, according to China Entrepreneur, Wang Fengying and Zhang Yun, a longtime friend and global CEO of Rees Strategic Positioning Consulting, jointly established "Beagle" to cooperate with industry experts to launch innovative cases and other related content, which was output in the form of videos and courses. She hopes to become a marketing expert and serve more small and medium-sized enterprises.

On July 24, 2022, Great Wall Motor announced that Wang Fengying resigned as the company's general manager due to job adjustment application and continued to engage in strategic management related work in the company. Three months after leaving Great Wall Motor, Rees Strategic Positioning Consulting announced that it has formed a global automotive strategic positioning and category innovation service team with Wang Fengying and her automotive expert team.

Regarding the rumors that Wang Fengying is about to leave, Rees Consulting insiders told Interface News that Wang Fengying is still working on automotive consulting projects and has not heard of going to Xpeng Motors as CEO. According to insiders, Wang Fengying is not a partner of Rees Consulting and only joined the company's automotive consulting project team.

A number of automotive industry analysts told Interface News that if Wang Fengying becomes the CEO of Xpeng Motors, it will make up for the shortcomings of Xpeng Motors through its rich practical and marketing experience.

He Xiaopeng said in an interview that Xpeng Motors used to pay too much attention to technological innovation, but technological innovation ultimately serves customers, so in the process of technological innovation to customers, we have done things, but not well enough.

In September last year, Xpeng G9 received a poor response to its listing, and its overly complex selection logic and high-price and low-end market strategy caused consumer dissatisfaction. Xpeng's sales fell immediately, with deliveries in October "slashing" to 5,101 units; At the same time, the stock price continues to fall, and the company's share price has fallen by nearly 80% in 2022, and the market value has evaporated by more than HK $300 billion.

In addition, the automotive industry, as a manufacturing industry, still emphasizes economies of scale. Peng Bo, global managing partner of McKinsey, told Interface News that automotive products and Internet products are fundamentally different, and when the scale of new forces rises, it is necessary to return to the organizational model of automotive enterprises in time from the Internet method. A helmsman who knows how the automotive industry works is crucial.

Zhang Junyi, managing partner of Oliver Wyman, told Interface News that Xpeng Motors has advantages in software services and autonomous driving, but it does need to upgrade in marketing services and channel improvement. The introduction of Wang Fengying can help solve marketing shortcomings on the one hand, and also release positive signals to the capital market.

It is worth mentioning that from the perspective of the industry environment, in recent years, new car manufacturers tend to attract executives with comprehensive business experience, while traditional automobile companies have opened channels to new talents, and talent exchanges between them are becoming more frequent.

Earlier, it was reported that Geely senior executive Yi Han will join Xpeng Motors as vice president of marketing after the Spring Festival, fully responsible for Xpeng Motors' marketing and public relations communications; Zhou Ju, former deputy general manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling Sales Company, joined Xiaomi in August last year as the head of marketing; Guo Tiefu, former senior director of marketing and public relations communications of Gaohe Automobile, returned to traditional automobile companies and became general manager of public relations and senior marketing director of Lotus China.

Zhang Junyi said, "New startups are willing to learn from the experience of some mature companies, and mature companies will also introduce the ideas of start-up automotive companies to understand each other's different perspectives and enhance their respective horizons." ”

He Xiaopeng revealed in an interview with "Late" that when the team established Xpeng Motors, they thought about finding a CEO and talked to many people, but there was no suitable candidate, so they could only go on their own. Until now, He Xiaopeng still believes that to some extent, his ability to "business" is not strong enough, and he needs the role of CEO to assist, "set up a team, lead the team, solve the operation matter, and lead everyone to win the battle." ”

At present, He Xiaopeng seems to have found his favorite CEO.