Li Auto restructures its organizational framework again! The Human Resources department has been integrated and will now report directly to Li Xiang.

Li Auto has once again made adjustments to its organizational structure. Recently, reports surfaced that Li Auto issued an internal announcement on November 11, announcing several key changes in its organization and personnel: the "Organization Department" and "Human Resources," which were previously part of the broader "Organization & Finance Group," have been merged into a single entity called "Human Resources," now integrated under the Product & Strategy Group. Additionally, the "Organization & Finance Group" has been rebranded as the CFO Function Group. Yang Haishan has been appointed as the head of the newly established Human Resources department, reporting directly to CEO Li Xiang. A reporter from the Daily Economic News confirmed the authenticity of this news with sources close to Li Auto.
Publicly available information reveals that Yang Haishan is a veteran employee of Li Auto, having served as the Director of After-Sales Service since October 2016. In this role, he has been fully responsible for tasks such as establishing and managing Li Auto's after-sales system. Prior to joining Li Auto, he previously worked at companies including Applied Materials China and BMW Brilliance. Commenting on Yang Haishan's appointment as head of the HR department, an employee of Li Auto noted that reactivating internal talent like Yang will be beneficial for boosting overall confidence and strengthening the company's capabilities. "Having Li Xiang directly oversee the HR department not only streamlines processes but also accelerates the approval workflow," the employee added.

It's worth noting that, in terms of organizational structure development, unlike his previous two ventures, Li Xiang devoted a significant portion of his energy to this area when he founded Li Auto. He meticulously analyzed the management strategies of industry giants such as Alibaba, Huawei, and Google. At the time, Li believed Li Auto needed to achieve an organizational upgrade in order to break through the 100-billion-yuan revenue milestone—and even challenge the elusive trillion-yuan mark. Against this backdrop, the matrix-style organizational model emerged as the approach Li Xiang identified as most suitable for Li Auto's current stage of growth. By the end of 2022, Li Xiang announced that the company would fully embrace Huawei’s practices and embark on a comprehensive transition toward a matrix-based organizational structure. However, as the company and its industry continue to evolve, Li Auto’s organizational framework will inevitably require corresponding adjustments. Some analysts suggest that, particularly when it comes to building an organization geared toward AI (artificial intelligence), certain processes previously adopted from Huawei may no longer align with today’s dynamic environment.
In fact, aside from this recent adjustment, Li Auto has already carried out multiple organizational restructuring efforts this year. In March, the company initiated a major overhaul of its Sales and Service Group, which now encompasses retail, after-sales service, charging infrastructure, quality operations, overseas business, and more—reporting instead to Zou Liangjun, Senior Vice President of Sales and Service. On the retail side, Li Auto introduced an internal "war zone system." By the end of June, Li Auto unveiled another comprehensive organizational restructuring along with key personnel appointments: the previously separate "R&D and Supply Group" and "Sales and Service Group" were merged into the newly established "Smart Car Group," which will oversee the entire strategic-to-operational loop of Li Auto's smart-car business. Ma Donghui, currently president of the company, will take on the role of head of the Smart Car Group, reporting directly to Li Xiang. In August, Li Auto announced further adjustments to its sales and service system, abolishing the earlier "Five Major War Zones" structure and consolidating operations under a single "Sales" department. Han Xi, formerly head of the Central Region, was appointed as the new head of the Sales Department, overseeing frontline sales activities. At the same time, two new departments—Sales Operations and Marketing—were created. Then, in September, Li Auto reorganized its autonomous driving division. As part of this update, the company split its original three secondary-level departments: the Model Algorithm Team was divided into three distinct units—Basic Models, VLA Models, and Model Engineering; the Mass Production R&D Team was restructured into three areas—Mass Production Delivery, Software Development, and Active Safety; and the Data Loop Team was split into Data Platform and Data Annotation. Meanwhile, the two remaining secondary departments—Planning Management and AI Evaluation & Operations—will continue to operate as before. "Behind our faster decision-making pace and higher-quality execution lies Li Auto's robust systemic capabilities," said Fan Haoyu, Senior Vice President of Product at Li Auto, during an interview with reporters. "We’ve reorganized our entire intelligent driving team into 11 streamlined, flat-level secondary departments, enabling swifter communication and more efficient decision-making. At the same time, we’ve moved away from the traditional large-scale, closed-loop R&D model, embracing instead a collaborative approach that leverages the unique expertise of each department—this is a clear demonstration of our strong organizational strength." Notably, Li Auto has recently shifted its corporate vision to becoming a globally leading artificial intelligence-powered consumer electronics enterprise. To align with this strategic evolution, the company anticipates that its ongoing organizational restructuring initiatives will persist in the months ahead.

Translated from Sina Auto

Email:
info@adtfm.com

Phone:
021-20532053

Address:
2nd Floor, No. 150 Jindian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai