SAIC Motor reshuffles leadership amid sluggish sales, EU tariffs

SAIC Motor president Wang Xiaoqiu has been elected chairman in a leadership reshuffle as China's largest automaker contends with sluggish domestic sales and hefty tariffs in the European Union.

Wang succeeds Chen Hong, who resigned upon reaching the retirement age of 63, according to a company filing with the Shanghai stock market on Wednesday. Vice president Jia Jianxu now serves as president.

Wang, 59, is a seasoned auto executive with an engineering background, having started as a quality control manager at SAIC and previously heading the joint venture with General Motors.

The leadership changes at the state-owned automaker occur as SAIC plans to request a hearing from the European Commission regarding the high tariffs on its EV exports to the EU. The provisional duties, ranging from 17.4 per cent to 37.6 per cent, are intended to prevent what the EU has described as a flood of cheap, state-subsidized Chinese EVs, a stance that China strongly opposes.

These EU tariffs, coupled with sluggish domestic sales, pose significant challenges for SAIC. The company's joint ventures with Volkswagen and GM have seen a decline in sales amid weak demand and intensified competition in China's auto market, where a prolonged price war has drawn in over 40 brands.

SAIC-VW sales fell 14.4 per cent in June compared to the previous year, while sales at its JV with GM plummeted 72 per cent. Overall, SAIC recorded an 11.8 per cent drop in first-half car sales, totaling 1.83 million units. More than a quarter of its vehicles were delivered to overseas markets during this period, with its MG brand being the best-selling Chinese EV brand in Europe.

In contrast, China's electric vehicle giant BYD sold 1.61 million passenger vehicles in the first half, marking a 28.8 per cent year-on-year increase, closing the gap with Tesla after handing back the world's top EV vendor title to the US competitor in the first quarter.

(With Reuters inputs)