(Yicai Global) Dec. 26 -- Shen Feng, former president of the China operations of Polestar, the electric car brand of Sweden's Volvo Car Corp., has joined electric vehicle unicorn NextEV Co. as vice president and chairman of its quality management committee.

Shen worked as a technical expert at Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] for years after earning a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Auburn University in 1996. Joining Volvo in 2010, he founded and led its research and development center in China. He became chief technology officer of Polestar last year and president of its China operations this year.

NextEV unveiled its electric sports utility vehicle the ES8 on Dec. 16. The company is now taking reservations for its first mass-made vehicle, priced at CNY448,000 (USD68,443) with first deliveries due in next year's first half. Since NextEV hired contract manufacturers to collaborate on the model, its quality has attracted wide attention. Shen will assume the task of quality management after serving as company vice president.

Founded in 2014, NextEV's investors include internet titans Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HKG:0700], Baidu Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU] and JD.Com Inc. [NASDAQ:JD]. Its latest USD1 billion funding round values the carmaker at USD5 billion.