Qoros Hires Ex-GM Executive as CEO

China's Qoros Automotive Co. has hired former General Motors Co. executive Phil Murtaugh as its new CEO.

Murtaugh succeeds Guo Qian, who has returned to an unspecified assignment at Chery Automobile Co. Qoros is a joint venture between Chery and Israel Corp.

Qoros operates an assembly plant outside Shanghai that can make 150,000 vehicles per year. But the struggling company sold only about 7,000 vehicles in 2014.

Murtaugh is past CEO of Coda Holding Inc., a California-based electric car company that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013. In previous assignments he has headed GM Shanghai, GM China Group, SAIC Motor Corp.'s international operations and Chrysler Group's Asia operations.