He was previously vice president of sales. He replaces Wang Yongqing (58) who has served as SAIC-GM’s president since 2014. He was appointed deputy chief economist by SAIC this week.

Mr Zhuang (50) started his automotive career at SAIC-GM in 1996, where he worked his way up from vehicle production manager to the joint venture’s executive director for purchasing.

He was hired by SAIC in 2019 as deputy director at the state-owned car-maker’s president office.

In 2021, he became CEO of SAIC Mobility Technology Services, a SAIC subsidiary providing car rental and ride-hailing services.

He rejoined SAIC-GM in December as vice-president for sales.

SAIC-GM, a 50:50 partnership between SAIC and GM, builds and markets cars and light trucks for the Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick brands.

Mr Zhuang’s appointment is seen as a move to kickstart sales in China as SAIC-GM moves to battery electric vehicle production.

In the first four months, the joint venture’s wholesale volume slipped 11 per cent from a year earlier to 265,958, according to SAIC.

Changeover: SAIC-GM promotes sales president Zhuang Jingxiong to top job as sales slip and BEV business expands

By Neil Dowling