Ding Lei, a top executive at Chinese tech giant LeEco and “global CEO” of Faraday Future, has stepped down from overseeing Faraday Future, sources tell The Verge.
Faraday Future never had an official CEO — the company has gone almost two years without naming one — but sources tell The Verge that Ding helped run things from his perch at LeEco, a major investor in FF. He joined LeEco in 2015 as chairman of LeSupercar and was seen as the company’s second most prominent spokesperson after founder Jia Yueting. He is also the former vice president at the Shanghai Automotive Industry corporation.
A spokesperson for LeEco said that Ding is still employed at the Chinese company with the title co-founder and global vice chairman of SEE Plan. She referred all questions about his oversight of Faraday Future to that company’s press contact, which has yet to respond to a request for comment. We will update this piece when we hear back from FF.
Ding Lei, second from the left, at the groundbreaking of FF’s factory in North Las Vegas.
Ding spearheaded LeEco’s self-driving electric car project, the LeSee, which was unveiled at the company’s everything-but-the-kitchen-sink event in California last October. According to sources, Ding was given the title of “acting global CEO” of Faraday Future by LeEco’s founder and chairman Jia Yueting until a permanent replacement could be found. Ding was also present at the April groundbreaking of FF’s $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas, which has since stalled due to a financial shortfall. He also took the stage at the unveiling of FF’s Batmobile-style concept race car, the FFZERO1, at last year’s CES.