Ms. Wang will be responsible for Xpeng's product planning, portfolio management and sales operations, reporting to the company's chairman and CEO, He Xiaopeng.

The company has high hopes for this year, hoping to turn around its sales performance with a slew of new model launches.

Xpeng will launch two new models in 2023 and revamp three existing older models with a goal of delivering 200,000 vehicles for the year, Mr. He said in an internal all-staff letter on January 28, local media LatePost reported in a January 28 story.

On January 11, local media reported that Ms. Wang will replace Mr. He as CEO of Xpeng.

In a response sent to CnEVPost, Xpeng did not deny the report, but stressed that the company will continue to grow under Mr. He's overall leadership.

"We are always open and welcoming to the best talent in the industry to join Xpeng. The company will continue to move forward under He Xiaopeng's leadership and Mr. He will remain the head of this company and that will not change," an Xpeng spokesperson said.

Xpeng has undergone organizational restructuring in the past few months to improve its previously overly centralized management, reduce communication costs and get closer to its users to understand their real needs. The addition of Ms. Wang appears to be the most important step in the process.

On November 30, Xpeng announced in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange announcement that co-founder and president Henry Xia had resigned as an executive director from the company's board of directors.

The Xpeng website currently shows the company's vice chairman Brian Gu as well as Xia as presidents.

Ms. Wang joined Great Wall Motor in 1991, became general manager of the company in November 2002, and became president in 2003.

She has seen the rise of Great Wall Motor and helped drive the company's SUV-focused strategy, and is seen in the industry as the No. 2 person at the company, behind chairman Wei Jianjun.

In July 2020, Great Wall Motor restructured its organization and introduced a rotating president system, and Ms. Wang began to gradually recede into the background.

China's new car makers initially built their products in the model of operating Internet companies, but automotive products are fundamentally different, and as they grow in size and have more products, these companies need to return to the car company model, some local media reports previously said.