Personnel Changes | Lu Yong Steps Down as Head of SAIC R&D Institute, Wang Conghe Takes Over On April 16, Gaishi Automobile learned that Lu Yong has stepped down as the head of SAIC Group’s Innovation R&D Institute. Wang Conghe, former Executive Deputy General Manager of the Pan-Asia Technical Automotive Center, will take over. At the SAIC Night event on April 10, Wang Conghe attended as the new head of the SAIC Innovation R&D Institute. Lu Yong spoke as an expert in SAIC chassis. Gaishi Automobile confirmed that Lu Yong officially transferred to Shanghai Huizhong as General Manager on April 1. The former General Manager, Qiu Xuejun, received another assignment. Shanghai Huizhong, founded in 1992, is a subsidiary of SAIC Group that produces passenger car chassis. It serves as a key supplier for SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC General’s chassis systems. The company has won the “Excellent Supplier Gold Award” from SAIC Volkswagen and the “Global Project Award” from SAIC General.
Lu Yong graduated from Tsinghua University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering. After graduation, he joined SAIC Group as an engineer at SAIC Volkswagen. He studied at Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. Lu then became the director of the chassis department at SAIC Volkswagen. He also served as the director of the chassis department at the SAIC Group Technology Center and as the general manager of Lianchuang Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. In 2022, he became the executive vice president of the newly established SAIC Group Innovation Research and Development Institute. Before stepping down, he was the president of the institute. His successor, Wang Conghe, is also a veteran of SAIC. Wang joined SAIC General Motors in 2003. He held various positions, including executive chief engineer of the drive system department at Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, executive deputy chief engineer of the electric vehicle project at SAIC General Motors’ Ultium platform, and deputy general manager at Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center.
Before taking over from Lu Yong, Wang Conghe was promoted to Executive Vice President of the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in August 2024. With Wang Conghe’s arrival, the newly established SAIC Maxus Passenger Vehicle will form a leadership team. This team will consist of one chairman and six committee members. The chairman is Jia Jianxu. The six members are Wang Jun, Yu Jingmin, Cui Weiguo, Wang Conghe, Zhang Liang, and Yang Wei. The committee will make collective decisions on major matters in the independent sector to improve efficiency.