BYD’s Xia Zhi Bing leaves

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BYD announced on August 6^th that the board had received the written resignation from the company’s vice president and general sales manager Xia Zhibing on August 5th. Xia’s resignation is due to personal reasons, and he would not hold any other positions in BYD after resignation. According to the concerned rules for listed companies, Xia’s resignation takes effect when it was submitted to the board, and his resignation would not affect BYD’s production and operation.

The general sales manager position will be succeeded by BYD’s general planning manager Hou Yan. Hou Yan was BYD’s vice president for sales two years ago.

Some sources say Xia will join Jaguar after resignation, but Xia denies the rumor. His resignation indicates he leaves the company because he is looking for a new opportunity, and he wants to focus on his personal health and take up advanced studies.

Some industry insiders believe heavy pressure might be a major reason for his resignation. After a series of blows such as the dealers quitting crisis and the Xi’an plant’s being investigated, BYD started to see a sales downturn. It saw year-on-year sales decline for six consecutive months in the first half of this year, and it’s the only automaker with sales declining for six straight months. The company announced in early July that its net profits for H1 fell 85-95% from a year earlier.