Chinese EV Startup Nabs Tesla Engineering Execs

Future Mobility Corp., a Hong Kong-based startup firm, has hired two Tesla Motor Inc. executives as part of its plans to compete against the electric-car company with its own premium EV, according to media reports.

Paul Thomas, who had been Tesla's senior vehicle engineering manager, will become Future Mobility's vice president of engineering. He worked at Aston Martin for 16 years before joining Tesla in mid-2014.

Marc Duchesne, a four-year Tesla veteran most recently serving as director of supply chain manufacturing and assembly engineering, reportedly will head the Chinese company’s production operations. He previously oversaw manufacturing for Toyota Canada.

Future Mobility has been on a hiring spree since the company was formally launched earlier this year. Carsten Breitfeld, the project manager for BMW’s i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, joined the Chinese company last month as its CEO.

Breitfeld was followed two weeks ago by three other BMW executives who had worked on the company’s i-car program. The trio of new vice presidents includes Dirk Abendroth (software and connectivity), Benoit Jacob (design) and Henrik Wenders (sales and marketing).

Daniel Kirchert, the former president of Nissan’s Infiniti unit in China, also was hired as Future Mobility's chief operating officer.

Future Mobility plans to open a main research and development center in Shenzhen, China, and other facilities in Europe and Silicon Valley that will focus on powertrain and autonomous driving technologies, respectively. It’s funded by Tencent Holdings, the largest internet firm in Asia, and electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group. A consortium of Chinese car dealerships—called China Harmony New Energy Auto—also has invested in the company.