【Epoch Times, October 20th, 2026】 Influenced by short videos, live broadcasts, and his “persuasive” persona, Wang Hao, who captured attention through his online presence, ultimately failed to turn the traffic into the profit urgently needed by Beiqi Group. After the net profit of the listed company plummeted by nearly 90%, this post-80s chairman, who had served for only a year, left the stage with a sense of desolation, leaving behind an old car enterprise still seeking a way out.
On October 17th, Wang Hao announced his departure from Beiqi Group on Weibo, stating that “resigning is not retiring, but reorganizing oneself to start anew.” With a few farewell words, he officially announced the end of his short-lived one-year tenure as chairman of Beiqi Group.
Born in 1982, Wang Hao holds a Ph.D. in Economics. He previously worked at a research institute affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and joined Beiqi in 2018, serving in various positions such as Beiqi Production Investment, Beiqi Blue Valley Information, Beiqi Penglong, and Group Operations Management. In 2025, he became the Chairman of Beiqi Automotive, before stepping down in October 2026.
Wang Hao was once dubbed the “most persuasive chairman on the internet.” He personally engaged in live broadcasts, interacting with netizens, momentarily giving Beijing Offroad, this long-established state-owned enterprise, a youthful, agile, and willing-to-listen appearance.
However, the marketing buzz around internet celebrities is difficult to sustain in the long run. While Beijing Offroad’s sales in 2025 increased by 72% to 147,000 vehicles, it couldn’t reverse the overall sluggish performance of Beiqi Automotive: annual operating income of 164.047 billion yuan, a 14.78% year-on-year decrease; gross profit down by 38.4%; net profit attributable to parent shareholders plummeted by 87.16% to a mere 123 million yuan.
Despite the momentary success in Beijing Offroad’s sales, it was not enough to compensate for the decline in profits from joint ventures, slow progress in new energy transformation, and the weakening profitability of the group as a whole.
The official announcement stated that Wang Hao’s resignation was due to “job changes,” and there were no conflicts or disputes with the board of directors. Wang Hao himself described his departure as a decision made “after careful consideration.” However, the public’s focus remains on why a chairman who was only in office for a year and at the peak of public opinion would first be transferred to the brand management department with significantly reduced responsibilities and then leave completely.
An article by “Tencent News” “A Car Lane Talk” speculates on three main reasons: firstly, excessive performance pressure, with senior management needing someone with more practical and systemic operational experience to take over; secondly, Beiqi underwent a leadership change in the spring of 2026, and Wang Hao was just part of the reorganization; thirdly, his marketing-oriented style did not align with the group’s realistic needs for cost reduction and stable profits.
The analysis in the article concludes that regardless of the explanation, the result is the same: Beiqi did not give this “internet celebrity chairman” enough time to prove that online traffic could translate into sustainable profitability.
Wang Hao’s successor, Zhang Guofu, is the group’s vice president, known as a “veteran” within the Beiqi system, well-versed in manufacturing, sales channels, and operating independent brands. Industry analysts suggest that this personnel choice itself is a silent correction to the path of “emphasizing dissemination but neglecting the system” during Wang Hao’s tenure.