EXEED Shifts Focus.

Original content by Autopix (ID: autopix)

On August 13, Chery once again adjusted the reporting relationship of the EXEED Business Division.

Based on strategic development and operational management needs, Zhang Guibing, Executive Vice President of Chery Automobile, will oversee the EXEED Business Division and report to Zhang Guozhong, Chery's "second-in-command" and Executive Vice President. Other positions remain unchanged.

This means that EXEED, which underwent a restructuring just last year, has once again changed its executive in charge.

Both Zhang Guibing and Li Xueyong are Executive Vice Presidents of Chery Automobile, with the former having long been responsible for overseas business and the latter primarily overseeing domestic operations.

In July 2025, Chery established the "Chery Brand Domestic Business Group," comprising four business divisions—EXEED, Arrizo, Fengyun, and QQ—with Li Xueyong, Executive Vice President of Chery Automobile, also serving as the group's general manager. Previously relatively independent, EXEED's domestic business was fully integrated into the newly established group in terms of organization and functions. Smart Kingdom, Jetour, and iCAR remain unaffected.

Currently, there is no additional information indicating whether EXEED will completely withdraw from the domestic business group administratively. However, from the new oversight arrangement, it is clear that Li Xueyong is no longer the direct executive overseeing EXEED.

This adjustment effectively shifts EXEED's reporting line from domestic to overseas. However, there has been no public announcement of simultaneous adjustments to EXEED's direct operational team, with Liu Hening still presiding over new vehicle launches as Executive Deputy General Manager of the EXEED Business Division at the end of July.

The changes are happening at the top.

01 EXEED Shifts to a New Oversight Line

Zhang Guibing's core responsibilities have not traditionally focused on domestic business.

Since around 2018, he has been in charge of Chery's international business and currently serves as Executive Vice President of Chery Automobile and General Manager of the International Business Group. EXEED represents an additional responsibility beyond his existing portfolio.

However, Zhang Guibing is not entirely unconnected to EXEED. When Anhui EXEED Automobile Co., Ltd. was established in 2021, Zhang Guibing served as the company's legal representative, a role he continues to hold to this day.

▍Zhang Guibing

A more direct backdrop is the market.

According to Chery's data, EXEED's global sales reached 8,376 units in July this year, up 0.6% year-on-year; cumulative sales for the first seven months stood at 41,600 units, down 39.3% year-on-year. EXEED experienced one of the larger sales declines among Chery's five major brands.

The primary issue lies in the domestic market. According to domestic terminal sales statistics from the China Passenger Car Association, EXEED sold approximately 10,900 units domestically from January to July this year, compared to about 34,700 units during the same period last year, representing a nearly 70% year-on-year decrease.

While the two sets of data use different statistical methods and cannot be directly subtracted, they clearly reflect that EXEED's overall sales decline this year is primarily due to pressure in the domestic market, with overseas business still supporting the majority of the brand's scale.

EXEED is Chery's most long-incubated premium brand. Its first concept car debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017, and the Chinese name "EXEED" was officially announced the following year.

Yin Tongyue has referred to EXEED as Chery's "pinnacle brand," comparing it to "Volkswagen's Audi" or "Toyota's Lexus" in terms of its position within the group.

Over the past year, EXEED has continued to adjust its domestic product lineup. Older models like the Yaoguang, Lanyue, and Lingyun have gradually ceded marketing resources, with a new focus on the ET5, as well as New Energy (new energy) products like the EXEED ES and ET.

At the end of last year, EXEED completed its 3.0 brand repositioning, with Chery redefining it as a "global performance luxury brand innovator," no longer limiting its ambitions to the domestic market.

In April this year, the first all-new product of EXEED's 3.0 era, the EX7, was launched. It is a nearly 5-meter-long large five-seat new energy SUV, available in both extended-range and pure electric versions, with an official starting price of 199,900 yuan, dropping below the 200,000 yuan mark.

On July 20, the 2027 EXEED ES was launched, with a guide price ranging from 179,900 to 209,900 yuan. The previous pure electric ES, launched in May last year, was priced between 189,800 and 269,800 yuan. The new model's price range has narrowed, with the top-trim price reduced.

Despite continuous new product launches and price reductions, domestic sales have not significantly improved. This is the most immediate operational context in which Zhang Guibing takes over EXEED.

Even more challenging is that EXEED's attempts to boost domestic sales through price reductions have intensified overlap with the Fengyun product line as it extends upward, with increasing overlap in certain price bands and product segments.

02 EXEED Needs New Growth Space

Last year, Chery incorporated EXEED into the domestic business group with a clear purpose.

At the time, Chery was reorganizing its increasingly complex brand and product portfolio. Placing EXEED, Fengyun, Arrizo, and QQ under Li Xueyong's management allowed for unified use of marketing resources and easier coordination of products, pricing, and channels.

The issue is that over the past year, EXEED has moved closer to the more significant volume brands within the business group in an effort to revive domestic sales.

In 2024, the main versions of the EXEED Star Era ES (Star Era ES) were priced above 200,000 yuan. By 2025, the starting price of the ES extended-range version had dropped to around 150,000 yuan, while the ET5 lowered the replacement threshold to the 130,000 yuan range.

The Fengyun A9L, launched in July last year, had a super replacement price ranging from 139,900 to 197,900 yuan. After the new EXEED ES entered the 170,000 yuan range, the two mid-to-large new energy sedans had significant overlap.

EXEED's continued downward search for sales volume means that defining product and price boundaries with Fengyun will become increasingly difficult. While the domestic business group can coordinate resources, it cannot entirely eliminate the growth aspirations of individual brands.

Moving upward has also presented challenges.

In the 2024 product plan for EXEED Star Era (Star Era), the ES was a sedan, the ET was an SUV, and there was also a luxury MPV codenamed E08. In August 2025, it was revealed that the planned mass production of the E08 had been halted, with some project personnel reassigned to Smart Kingdom to participate in the Smart Kingdom MPV project.

Chery made a difficult coordination between two high-end projects.

This year, Smart Kingdom has begun to show new growth momentum. In July, sales reached 10,709 units, up 227.7% year-on-year, surpassing 10,000 units for the first time in eight months and approaching EXEED's total domestic sales for the first seven months.

At the same time, Chery has gained a new foothold in the domestic premium market.

At the end of March this year, Chery Jaguar Land Rover officially launched the FREELANDER brand, planning to introduce six models over five years and establish 100 dealerships covering 60 cities this year. The first mass-produced model, the Freelander 8, rolled off the production line at the end of July.

Jetour and its high-end off-road brand, Zongheng, occupy another segment of the travel, off-road, and premium SUV markets.

A few years ago, EXEED had to single-handedly address Chery's domestic upward mobility issues. Now, this task can be shared among multiple brands.

Zhang Guibing's takeover of EXEED offers another possibility.

He has long been in charge of Chery's most advantageous international business. In 2025, Chery's overseas revenue reached 157.4 billion yuan, accounting for more than half of total revenue; exports totaled 1.29 million units, contributing nearly half of total sales. Growth continued to accelerate this year, with exports reaching 1.15 million units in the first seven months, up 71% year-on-year, and July single-month exports exceeding 200,000 units for the first time.

Over the past two years, EXEED's overseas business has also maintained positive growth, with strategic products like the ES and ET entering markets such as the Middle East and Europe under the EXLANTIX name. Compared to the domestic market, overseas operations have become a clearer growth pillar for EXEED.

To date, there is no evidence suggesting that EXEED will adjust its domestic business. The EX7 and new ES are still being launched intensively this year, and EXEED has just completed its 3.0 brand repositioning, with its domestic business entering a new product cycle.

However, the new oversight relationship at least opens up another possibility for EXEED. Growth does not necessarily have to be sought solely in the domestic market.",