Shanghai (ZXZC)- After the Spring Festival, Zhang Yong, former vice general manager of BAIC BJEV, has officially joined Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd (Hozon Auto) as president, taking charge of the production and operation business of the electric vehicle startup, according to Hozon Auto.

Zhang Yong previously held key positions in Foton Auto, the stated-owned BAIC Group's subsidiary. In 2010, he left Foton Auto for Chery Auto as executive deputy general manager and was in charge of Chery's new energy vehicle business. Then he returned to BAIC in 2014, taking charge of BAIC BJEV's channel building, marketing, after-sales service and brand promotion which enabled him to accumulate abundant experiences in new energy vehicle industry.

According to relevant statistics, during Zhang's tenure, BAIC BJEV's annual sales had reached 48,000 vehicles in 2016, skyrocketing 138.73% year on year. The company remained such strong impetus in 2017, achieving a year-on-year sales growth of 125.2% to 104,500 units, and ranked first in new energy vehicle sales in China.

Founded in 2014, Hozon Auto is a China's electric vehicle startup led by R&D experts from Tsinghua University, involving a registered capital of around RMB 630,000,000. In April last year, Hozon Auto received an official government permit for the production of electric vehicle. With a total investment of RMB 1,157,000,000, the new project of electric vehicle is operated at Tongxiang Economic Development Zone of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province and is expect to realize the mass production target of 50,000 new energy vehicles. 

Its first electric vehicle model E-TAKE has been showcased in December last year. According to official news, the E-TAKE, with a combined battery range of 500km, is expected to go on sale by the end of 2019.