Asian Tech Press (Nov 28) -- Chinese electric car startup Xpeng Inc. has hired a former BMW senior engineer to develop its own batteries.

Carmaker Xpeng has put battery research and development in-house on its agenda, and has now recruited former BMW senior engineer Zhong Liang for the new task, Chinese media reported Monday.

Zhong Liang, whose position at Xpeng is senior director of battery technology, has joined the electric car startup for more than six months, the reports said.

Before joining BMW, Zhong worked at SK Innovation Co., a leading South Korean battery company that also has a partnership with Xpeng.

The reports also noted that Xpeng has built a battery R&D team of about 100 people, with the goal of initially landing its self-developed battery project in about five years.

In response, Xpeng said that the personnel changes are true, but there is "no such thing" as self-developed batteries.