March 21, according to the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and the Hubei Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision: Hu Xindong, the former Executive Deputy General Manager of Dongfeng Renault Automobiles Co., Ltd., is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision and investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and the Xiangyang Municipal Supervisory Commission of Hubei Province.
Public information shows that Hu Xindong graduated from the Political Education major of Hubei University in 1990, with a Bachelor of Laws degree. In 2000, he received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, and in 2001, he received a Master of Economics degree from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. Looking back on his work experience, Hu Xindong can also be regarded as an “elder” figure of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, with more than 20 years of working experience in Dongfeng Motor Corporation.
Hu Xindong joined Dongfeng Motor Corporation in 1990. From July 2003 to September 2005, he served as the director of the General Office of Dongfeng Motor Corporation. Before 2003, Hu Xindong worked in the suspension spring company under Dongfeng Parts Group, and later participated in the restructuring of Dongfeng axle business to form the largest commercial vehicle axle company in Asia. In 2003, Hu Xindong was transferred to the headquarters of Dongfeng Group and served as the minister of the Legal Affairs Department, the minister of the Securities Affairs Department, and the minister of the Capital Operations Department. In 2013, Hu Xindong was assigned by the group to be responsible for the Dongfeng Renault project and completed the restructuring of the Sanjiang Renault project and government approval, the construction and production of Dongfeng Renault, and almost participated in all negotiations on the joint venture contract between Dongfeng and Renault. In November 2016, Hu Xindong left the position of Executive Vice President of Dongfeng Renault.
Dongfeng Renault was established in December 2013 and is a joint venture brand jointly established by Dongfeng Motor and French Renault. In April 2020, Dongfeng Motor Group announced that in view of the decline in the domestic auto market and the operating conditions of Dongfeng Renault, Dongfeng Renault intends to reorganize, and Renault intends to transfer 50% of its shares to Dongfeng Motor Group. Dongfeng Renault stopped its related business activities of the Renault brand. In July 2020, Dongfeng Renault Automobiles Co., Ltd. was renamed Dongfeng Motor (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., and Renault Group exited the shareholder list and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Group. This move also means that Dongfeng Renault has officially become history, and its four domestic models, Kadjar, Koleos, Renault e-Nuo, and Kelebin, have all been discontinued.
It is worth mentioning that just two days ago, the honorary chairman of Dongfeng’s subsidiary was investigated. On March 19, according to the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and the Hubei Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision: Lv Weidong, the honorary chairman of Dongfeng Motor Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision and investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and the Helong County Supervisory Commission of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province.
According to incomplete statistics, since 2024, the official account “Lianjie Dongfeng” of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Motor Group has reported 5 cases of violations of regulations by Dongfeng Motor. On February 2, four people, including Kang Lihua, the former member of the Party Committee and executive general manager of Dongfeng Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Liu Qiheng, the former member of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Special Commercial Vehicle Co., Ltd., the former minister of the Finance and Accounting Department, and the former minister of the Finance and Accounting Department of Dongfeng Huashen Automobile Co., Ltd., Wang Jiawei, the former secretary of the Party Committee, the former secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and the former chairman of the trade union of Dongfeng Automobile Trade Co., Ltd., and Yang Jun, the former section chief of the After-sales Business Development Section of the After-sales Service Department of Dongfeng Nissan Automobile Sales Co., Ltd., were suspected of duty crimes and were referred to the judicial authorities for review and prosecution. On February 20, Li Puming, the member of the service committee of Dongfeng Xiangyang Daan Automobile Testing Center Co., Ltd., was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and had surrendered voluntarily. Currently, he is undergoing disciplinary review and supervision and investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission of Dongfeng Motor Corporation and the Yichang Municipal Supervisory Commission of Hubei Province.
Due to the long industrial chain and large scale, the automotive industry is relatively more prone to corruption. It should be noted that the operating conditions of automotive companies and corruption issues are highly correlated. Once corruption arises, it is likely to lead to problems such as substandard components, which in turn affect brand reputation and corporate image.
