Liang ‘Lance’ Zhou
Chief Executive
Karma Automotive
Irvine
Born in Liuzhou, China
Age: 52
Lives in Mission Viejo
WHY: Heads one of the few car companies making vehicles in California at a 556,000-square-foot production hub in Moreno Valley, expansive headquarters in Irvine Spectrum.
HOW: Engineer by training. Spent more than 25 years in the automotive industry progressing into sales and marketing, general management then high-level executive positions. Served as chief executive of Naveco, joint venture of Iveco of Fiat and Nanjing Auto, then became chief executive and president of Beijing Foton-Daimler Automotive, as well as vice president of Daimler Global. Joined Karma in December 2017 and quickly hatched a new business plan, rooted in technology and innovation, for the luxury electric vehicle maker.
RECENT: Unveiled 2020 Revero GT, powered by BMW-supplied turbo in-line three-cylinder engine allowing the car to go from 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds. Design partnership with Italian firm Pininfarina, introducing first example, the Pininfarina GT coupe, at Auto Shanghai. Renamed $100 million Moreno facility to Karma Innovation and Customization Center, or KICC. Expanding to Europe and Middle East next year followed by Asia with vehicles in China by 2021.
FAST FACT: Karma uses only a few robots—23 to be exact—to build its electric vehicles.
QUOTABLE: “We changed our company’s mindset from [that of] a big OEM to a big startup company. We came from Fisker, no doubt, but we are not Fisker anymore.”
PERSONAL: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, and a Ph.D. from Nanjing University of Science and Technology.
