Within a Year, Changan, SAIC, GAC, and Great Wall "Made Moves" on Overseas Leaders!

"Going Global", some automakers view it as a lifeline for sales transfer; if they cannot compete domestically, they sell cars overseas; others practice it seriously, ensuring both domestic vitality and overseas competitiveness.

For this, strategic rotations regarding the overseas market have happened one after another. In one year, Changan, SAIC, GAC, and Great Wall have all "made moves" on their overseas leaders.

In the second half of 2025, Changan Motors completed multiple organizational structure adjustments targeting the overseas market.

First, Ye Pei was promoted to Executive Vice President of Changan Motors, succeeding Wang Hui who previously oversaw overseas business, becoming the main lead for Changan Motors' globalization strategy.

Subsequently, former Executive Vice President of Changan Mazda Deng Zhitao was transferred to the head of the Southeast Asia Business Unit, reporting directly to Executive Vice President Ye Pei. Additionally, Executive Vice President Peng Tao is responsible for Central/South America and Middle East/Africa markets.

Previously, Changan had promoted Wang Hui from General Manager of the Overseas Development Department to Chairman of Avatr Technology. The location selection and construction of his Thailand Rayong factory were key layouts for Changan's overseas expansion.

Unlike other automakers, Changan's overseas expansion can be considered true globalization; not only own-brand vehicles but also joint-venture brands are included in the strategic planning.

From January to May this year, Changan's cumulative overseas sales reached 363,648 vehicles, accounting for 39.66% of the group's total. This shows that overseas business has become an indispensable part of Changan. With multiple Executive Vice Presidents taking command, its importance is naturally exceptional.

Public data shows that as the head of SAIC International, Yu De played an irreplaceable role during SAIC's critical "going global" period. Starting from 2025, the position of General Manager of SAIC International has been taken over by Cui Weiguo.

Cui Weiguo is a veteran of SAIC. During his tenure at SAIC GM, he participated throughout the introduction of the Buick GL8 from the first generation to subsequent multiple updates, being an important hero for the continued best-selling of this ace model.

In 2014, Cui Weiguo was promoted to Deputy General Manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle Company, and subsequently fed the successful experience accumulated from joint-venture brands into the product development of the own-brand segment.

In early 2025, SAIC Motor Group launched a major organizational structure reform named "Major Passenger Vehicle Segment", integrating Roewe, MG, Rising, SAIC International, Research & Development Headquarters, LingShu Technology, and Overseas Mobility segments, and implementing collective decision-making for major matters of the own-brand segment.

In this round of deep adjustment, Cui Weiguo was appointed as Executive Director of the Overseas Marketing Department of the Major Passenger Vehicle Segment, comprehensively coordinating the overseas business of own-brand vehicles such as Roewe, MG, and Rising. At the same time, he officially took over SAIC International. Business information shows that in August 2025, Cui Weiguo was added as a director of SAIC International.

After a wave of strategic changes, handing over the heavy burden of overseas business to him, it is clear that Cui Weiguo is one of the most valued veterans of SAIC.

It is worth noting that around the time SAIC released "Overseas Strategy 3.0 — Glocal Strategy" in high profile, the overseas market environment also changed drastically. In 2026, SAIC's overseas business showed strong growth resilience. From January to May 2026, SAIC's cumulative vehicle exports reached 543,000 vehicles, ranking third among domestic automakers, with year-on-year growth exceeding 60%, and market share of approximately 13.4%.

GAC's overseas personnel changes were the most radical.

In November 2025, Chen Jiacai officially joined GAC, becoming Deputy General Manager of GAC Group, and comprehensively responsible for GAC's overseas business. Shortly after, the official announcement stated, Chen Jiacai was listed in the Group Leadership Team.

It should be known that Chen Jiacai is not a GAC veteran, but a "foreign monk" (outsider). Once he joined, he was responsible for the overseas business which GAC highly valued, it is not an exaggeration to call it "radical".

Under Chen Jiacai's leadership, GAC's export volume reached nearly 100,000 vehicles from January to May this year. Although accounting for less than one-sixth, it skyrocketed by 135% year-on-year. Under Chen Jiacai's management, GAC International's future is immeasurable.

On May 10, China Brand Day, GAC appeared on CCTV Special Report, with Chen Jiacai representing the group to accept an exclusive interview. Why was he able to obtain such honor in just half a year after joining?

This writer's opinion is that Chen Jiacai did not fail the group's expectations, skillfully used and displayed the overseas experience accumulated at Chery, allowing GAC to gradually achieve the transition from "Product Export" to "Systematic Export", from "Scale Overseas Expansion" to "Value Overseas Expansion".

Handing power to an outsider, the move GAC made seems to be right.

With frequent personnel changes, Great Wall finally had thoughts on the overseas segment.

In June 2026, multiple media reported that Shi Qingke, President of Great Wall International, had resigned, with Zhang Genshen, President of Brazil-Mexico Region, as his successor. Although Great Wall's internal response stated "the report is false", from hard actions such as DingTalk architecture change and labor contract re-signing, it is an undisputed fact that the overseas architecture has been largely adjusted.

The core of the adjustment is shifting from "Centralization" to "Decentralization". Previously, "Great Wall International" as an independent tier-one organization had unified allocation power of R&D, Production, Supply, Sales, and Service; after adjustment, decision-making power was recalled to Group President Mu Feng, and overseas functions were decomposed and assigned to corresponding middle platforms of the group respectively.

On the surface, this adjustment is a rebalance of organizational efficiency, but behind it lies deeper logic of the master of the house. Sources point out that this adjustment is related to Chairman Wei Jianjun's perception of the "drawbacks of delegating power" — issues such as cost control, brand premium, and compliance risks have become prominent with the expansion of overseas scale.

Data shows that from January to May this year, Great Wall's overseas sales reached 231,258 vehicles, accounting for 48.60% of the group's total. Basically, the importance of Great Wall's overseas business has reached a level comparable to Chery. At this moment, strategic adjustment may also be reasonable.

Early Chinese automakers' overseas expansion was essentially a foreign trade behavior centered on product export, with overseas heads mainly taking on sales functions. Now, this old path is no longer feasible.

Changan decomposed overseas business by region, SAIC established a global talent rotation system, GAC delegated decision-making chains from Group Headquarters to Brand BU heads, and Great Wall split the overseas "independent kingdom". Focusing on overseas cuts, Chinese automakers are unanimously eyeing another big bounty.