Geely Appoints New CEO

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. names Yue Gui Sheng as CEO, replacing Shufu Li.

Li will remain as chairman of Geely, a company he founded and which first made bicycles and refrigerators before starting production of automobiles in the late 1990s in China.

Per new rules of the Hong Kong stock exchange, a company must have separate officers in the roles of chairman and CEO, Reuters says.

Geely became the first Chinese auto maker to exhibit at the Detroit auto show last month and has announced plans to enter the U.S. market as early as 2008. (See related story: Geely Announces North American Sales Plans)