As the earliest staff, Zhang Tian submitted his departure application last week.
Bordrin Building. Image credit: Bordrin website
Chinese electric vehicle startup Bordrin Motors’ marketing vice president Zhang Tian (张天) submitted his departure application last week, according to 36Kr, a Chinese information platform.
Zhang Tian is one of Bordrin’s founding team, with a job number of 002, right after 001 which is assigned to the company’s founder and CEO, Huang Ximing (黄希鸣). Established in August 2016, Bordrin is a smart electric vehicle developer with a mission to provide multi-dimensional smart travel, mobile energy, and sharing economy solutions. So far, the company has launched three EV platforms and two concept EVs. Its first EV model, the iV6, will go into mass production as early as the end of this year and will be delivered to customers in the first quarter of next year.
The company has closed four corporate rounds of funding since its founding, with the participation of well-known investors such as Sinochem International. (中化国际), a Chinese state-owned company, and Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia Limited, a Japanese PE firm. The latest funding on June 3 raised USD 351 million, propelling Bordrin’s valuation to USD 1.4 billion.
The EV maker denied a rumor yesterday about being acquired by Volkswagen, saying that it was in talks with global investors – but that it had never been in touch with the German car giant.
Zhang Tian is said to be leaving the company as early as the end of this month; the decision to go was made by him. Before joining Bordrin, Zhang Tian served as director of digital marketing at Coca-Cola Greater China.