Murtaugh to Resign as CEO of Qoros Automotive

Phil Murtaugh, 60, is resigning for personal reasons as CEO of China’s Qoros Automotive Co. at the end of January, only 11 months after taking the job, the company says.

Qoros has been struggling to build sales in China and Europe since its creation in 2007. When he arrived last February, he told The Wall Street Journal the company suffered from a “severe lack of understanding” about how to positon the brand.

The company is a venture between Chery Automobile and Singapore-base Kenon Holdings Ltd., a spinoff from investment firm Israel Corp.

Murtaugh, who once headed manufacturing for General Motors Overseas, is a former CEO of now-bankrupt U.S. electric-car startup Coda Automotive Inc. Previously he was CEO of Asia Pacific operations for Chrysler, served as an executive vice president for China’s SAIC Motor Corp., was president of GM China and helped launch Shanghai GM.