Sándor Gacsó moves from Great Wall Motor to XPeng

In the new role Gacsó will lead the company’s European logistics division. He is well versed in the automotive logistics sector in Europe, and particularly the EV market in the region, having held several logistics roles based in Germany and overseeing European divisions for firms including Chevrolet, ARS Altmann, ICL Systems and CAT.

Gacsó was in his position at GWM for just over a year, having been appointed in August 2023. At the time, he spoke to Automotive Logistics about the market in Europe, including challenges such as a lack of charging infrastructure across the continent, capacity shortages for storage at ports and in ro-ro vessels, and challenging geopolitical situations affecting Europe.

“Storage at ports is not the easiest to secure, and there are not many options to pick from due to the requirements for entry points to get to Europe,” he told Automotive Logistics last year. “Deepsea transportation and the geopolitical situation between Russia and the Ukraine could make it even more challenging. We need to consider using more software tools. We need visibility and transparency. These are crucial, whether the software is outsourced or developed internally.”

XPeng was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong in South China, with offices in California, USA and Munich, Germany. The EV maker has two factories, with one in Zhaoqing and the other under construction in Guangzhou.

The plant in Zhaoqing was built in 15 months and began distributing the first models from the plant (the XPeng P7 sports sedan) to domestic dealers in June 2020. XPeng worked with battery producer CATL on the lithium NCM cells used in the battery for the XPeng P7. The company said the P7’s ultra-thin high-performance battery pack is only 110mm in height, reaching 170Wh/kg energy density to deliver close to 81kWh of power.

XPeng is set to participate in the Paris Motor Show 2024 next month, where the company said it will reveal its future plans, including a roadmap for expanded AI integration and the latest vehicle model incorporating the technology. Brian Gu, vice chairman and president, XPeng said: ”The European automotive market is undergoing a transformation from electrification to smartification. […] We are deeply committed to the European market and are excited about our ongoing efforts to expand our presence in the region.”

Gacsó joins XPeng at a precarious time for Chinese EV imports to the US, as the US government has been cracking down on imports from the country by increasing import duties on EVs by more than 100%, affecting $18 billion-worth of imports from China.