(Ecns.cn)--Mr. Xia Zhibing, vice president and general sales manager of BYD, a major Chinese automaker, resigned abruptly for personal reasons, said a company statement on August 5.
"Eight years ago when I first took over sales, business was tough. At that time I said I would increase the sales volume of vehicles to 400,000 and then leave, but the company did not approve my resignation when we reached that goal. Now, by last month sales have exceeded 1.6 million and BYD has overcome the hardships since July last year. I have to build up my health and take up advanced studies, thus, I am leaving the company this month," twittered Xia, the man who had set a company sales record, on August 6.
However, some industry insiders believe that the sales downturn was the major reason for Xia's resignation. "With a gloomy market, Xia's sales strategies achieved little during the first half of this year, and would be less likely to turn the tide."
After a series of crises such as the dealers quitting and the Xi'an plant being investigated, BYD's year on year sales decreased for six straight months in the first half, the only car maker suffering such a big decline. The company announced in early July that its net profits for BYD's H1 vehicles dropped by 85-95% from last year.
Differences between the philosophies of Xia and BYD also contributed to his leaving, added the insiders. "Xia as the sales manager was mainly responsible for the dealers quitting crisis last year. Thus, his resignation was not surprising."
Xia joined BYD in 1998 after graduating from the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University. After working as accountant, financial manager, service manager, and deputy sales manager, he was appointed sales manager in 2005.
Since then, the company's sales have witnessed astonishing increases, reaching 400,000 in 2009. BYD became a dark horse in the fiercely competitive auto industry.
Xia's talent in marketing was also brought into full play when his strategies saw a big victory in putting the BYD F3, a four-door compact car, on sale at a time when the company was suffering financial straits.
Xia's management style, "human and pioneering," had also won immense popularity and support from many of his colleagues. "Xia is the core and the backbone of BYD's sales," twittered someone on Xia's microblog. "He had a dream team, who set good examples in marketing of local brands."
