10 Things You Didn’t Know about Dr. Lance Zhou
Dr. Lance Zhou is the current CEO of Phoenix Motorcars. He took up the position on March 28 of 2022. Since then, Zhou has overseen Phoenix Motorcars’ IPO, which came to a conclusion in very recent times.
1. Went to Northwestern Polytechnical University
Education-wise, Zhou went to Northwestern Polytechnical University, which is a Chinese school that can be found in the city of Xi’an in the province of Shaanxi. Chances are good that interested individuals can guess that the school specializes in technical subjects such as aeronautical engineering, astronautical engineering, and marine engineering. In any case, Zhou got both his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree from Northwestern Polytechnical University.
2. Went to Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Subsequently, Zhou went to Nanjing University of Science and Technology where he earned his PhD. The school was named thus in 1993, presumably because it is based out of Nanjing. However, it is interesting to note that it can trace its roots to earlier institutions, which were based in other places. One was situated in Harbin to the north. Another was situated in Wuhan to the west.
3. Based Out of Anaheim, CA
Currently, Zhou is based out of the city of Anaheim in the state of California. This is because that is where Phoenix Motorcars has its headquarters. There are a lot of people who will be most familiar with Anaheim because of its association with Disney. Something that makes sense because of the huge influence that hosting the Disneyland Resort has had on it. Indeed, Anaheim was an agricultural community for the most part before the resort caused numerous hotels, restaurants, and other tourist-oriented businesses to spring up in its surroundings.
4. Auto Industry Veteran
Zhou’s current position as the CEO of Phoenix Motorsports isn’t his first time working in the auto industry. In fact, it isn’t even his first time working as a CEO in the auto industry. As such, it is no exaggeration to say that Zhou is an auto industry veteran, meaning that he has plenty of expertise and experience to draw upon when it comes to carrying out his responsibilities.
5. Used to Work For NAVECO
Once upon a time, Zhou worked for NAVECO. It isn’t particularly well-known. However, NAVECO was a joint venture between a couple of companies. One was Nanjing Automobile, which is a state-owned company that can trace its roots to 1947. Thanks to that, it can claim to be the oldest auto manufacturer that can be found in China. However, it is amusing to note that Nanjing Automobile wasn’t the first one to make cars in said country because that particular distinction went to FAW Automotive, which was founded in 1953. Meanwhile, the other was IVECO, which is named thus because it is the acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation. Said company lives up to its name by specializing in light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. Nowadays, IVECO is an independent company. However, it was under Fiat at the time.
6. Used to Work For Daimler
Zhou went on to work for Daimler, which refers to what is now called the Mercedes-Benz Group. He was involved in its China-based operations. There, Zhou rose quite high, as shown by how he was both the CEO and the President of a joint venture between Daimler and a Chinese company while simultaneously serving as a vice president for Daimler itself before he headed elsewhere.
7. Used to Work For Karma Automotive
Just before Phoenix Motorcars, Zhou was working for Karma Automotive. That is another California-based manufacturer of electric vehicles. In its case, Karma Automotive specializes in making luxury electric vehicles. As such, while it belongs to the same industry as Phoenix Motorcars, its products are aimed at different markets. Currently, Karma Automotive sells its luxury electric vehicles to people in Europe, the Middle East, and both of the Americas through its network of dealers.
8. Runs a Company Focused On the Fleet Market and the Transit Market
Nowadays, Zhou runs Phoenix Motorcars. Said company also makes electric vehicles. However, Phoenix Motorcars is focused on making light-duty vehicles as well as medium-duty vehicles meant for the fleet market and the transit market. As such, it doesn’t get as much attention from consumers for the simple reason that it isn’t aimed at consumers. Even so, one can make the argument that it has an important role to play in the gradual transition towards electric vehicles. After all, whether it is Phoenix Motorcars or other electric vehicle manufacturers, someone is going to need to meet the continuing demand of the fleet market and the transit market.
9. Runs a Company That Has Undergone a Lot of Changes
Phoenix Motorcars isn’t a new company by any reasonable standard. This is because it was founded in 2002, meaning that it has been around for two decades’ time and counting. Over that time, Phoenix Motorcars has received additional funding from various sources, which has often been accompanied by major changes in its structure as well as its priorities. Still, the company is still in existence, meaning that it possesses at least some measure of staying power. Moreover, it has real products that are being sold, meaning that the resources that have been poured into it didn’t just go nowhere.
10. Has Overseen a Not Particularly Encouraging IPO
Very recently, Phoenix Motorcars had its IPO. Zhou hasn’t been the CEO for very long, so it isn’t clear how much influence he had over it. Still, he was the one in charge of the company when it happened. In any case, Phoenix Motorcars’ IPO wasn’t particularly encouraging, as shown by how it ended with gross proceeds of $15.75 million. This is perhaps unsurprising seeing as how now isn’t exactly what most people would consider to be a good time to have an IPO. After all, investors are spooked like pretty much everyone else by the economy, meaning that they aren’t exactly rushing to spend money on new stocks.
