Xpeng Motors marked the beginning of its expansion into overseas markets when it exported its first vehicles to Norway last September. It has relied on local dealers for vehicle sales since then, but now it appears the company has bigger ambitions.

Xpeng posted an ad on LinkedIn Tuesday for a Store Manager for its Norway team, a position that entails choosing the store location, working with the team to complete store preparations, and preside over the store's sales, distribution, and after-sales departments, hinting that it could build directly managed stores there.

You can find Xpeng's description of the job at the end of this article.

Unlike traditional carmakers that rely on a network of 4S dealers to sell their cars, China's new carmakers are using a direct sales model similar to Tesla's.

Nio, for example, not only sells its own vehicles directly in China but is also bringing this model to Norway, its first stop overseas.

Xpeng has previously taken a relatively cautious strategy in entering the Norwegian market, partnering with local dealers including Zero Emission Mobility AS (ZEM) to carry out marketing and after-sales services to local consumers.

Also in China, Xpeng does not seem to be limiting itself entirely to using only its own directly operated stores.

In April, Xpeng signed an agreement in China with Zhongsheng Group Holdings, a traditional Chinese car dealership that sells mainly Mercedes-Benz and BMW, to expand sales.

From June 2020, Xpeng starts selling the G3i model with an NEDC range of 520 km in Norway.

On September 24, 2020, 100 units of the SUV G3i were shipped to Norway, announcing the first orders received by Xpeng in the European market.

Compared to the G3 previously sold in China, the G3i for Norway has been adapted and optimized for the European and Norwegian markets in terms of hardware and software in order to meet the relevant regulatory approval standards.

Here is Xpeng's description of the job:

Job responsibilities:

1.Coordinate with Xpeng team to complete the city store preparation, include choosing the store location, follow-up the store design, construction process, and etc...

2.Fully preside over the daily work of the Xpeng store (sales, delivery and after-sales department), complete the store's sales, delivery and after-sales business objectives; lead interviews and recruit suitable candidates to help the Xpeng store achieve their business goals;

2. Coordinate the Xpeng store to complete the sales targets, and be responsible for the efficient completion of the delivery of all vehicles in the city where the delivery department of the Xpeng store;

3. Control Xpeng store expenses, including staffing, store supplies, inventory management, service expenses, etc.;

4. Manage customer satisfaction and lead the Xpeng store to provide outstanding services to Xpeng customers;

5. Train and upgrade the skills of employees, and firmly implement company standards;

6. Try and promote the efficiency improvement of daily work process in the local team, and share mature and best working methods with colleagues and management;

7. When communicating with people inside and outside the company, represent Xpeng Motors in a professional and responsible manner;

8. Other responsibilities: other related responsibilities assigned according to business needs.

Requirements:

1.More than 8 years of working experience in the automotive sales industry, familiar with the working process of automotive sales operations;

2.More than 5 years of work experience in management positions;

3. Bachelor degree or above, major in automotive industry;

4. With strong management experience, able to gather team strength and work together to achieve business goals;

5. Full of enthusiasm, proactive, strong oral expression, communication ability, and strong market development capabilities.