General Motors has appointed Matt Tsien as president of GM China, replacing Bob Socia, who is set to retire on Jan. 1, 2014 after a little over a year of service.
Tsien, 53, currently serves as vice president of Planning and Program Management for GM China and GM Consolidated International Operations and Strategic Alliances for China, according to Reuters.
Socia became the president of China operations in Oct. 2012.
"When Bob was appointed president of our largest market, our plan was for him to help prepare his successor," Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said in the statement. "Matt is now ready to step into the role and we wish Bob the best in his retirement."
GM delivered more vehicles in China during 2012 than any other foreign automaker under Socia, but the last three quarters the company was beat by Volkswagen, according to Bloomberg.
Tsien is currently a vice president at GM China, in charge of product planning. He has previously helped negotiate early partnerships with SAIC Motor Corp.
At the Shanghai Auto Show, GM announced that it'll be spending $11 billion through 2016 on expanding in China.
The automaker expected to produce four new assembly plants soon, and when they're completed will boost annual capacity to 5 million vehicles. The increase would double the number of cars the company sold in the U.S. in 2012, according to Bloomberg.
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