The chief operating officer at would-be distributor Chamco Auto has left the company to join ZX Auto and is aiming to expand sales into 40 countries.

Thomas Del Franco joined ZX Auto in July 2008 as general manager of global sales at its subsidiary ZX International. He is based in Baoding, Hebei province.

ZX Auto, known formally as Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co., is a small maker of pickups and SUVs. Last year, it sold 38,633 vehicles.

The company is currently expanding annual capacity at its plant in Changchun to 80,000 units by mid-2009, from 30,000 units today. The company's main plant in Baoding has annual capacity of 55,000 vehicles.

Del Franco says his goal is extending ZX Auto's reach into 40 countries, "with the last expansion to come into North America, where a full subsidiary will be formed."

Del Franco was chief operating officer at China American Cooperative Automotive Co., the North American distributor known as Chamco, from 2007 until July 2008.

Chamco was placed under a legal custodian in April by a New Jersey court amid a tangle of lawsuits. More than a dozen executives have since resigned.

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