Shen has served as president of Li Auto since November 2015. His last day with the company is expected to be around the end of June 2023.

(Image credit: Li Auto)

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) announced today that Shen Yannan has tendered his resignation as president and director of the company in order to devote more time to his personal affairs, effective January 1, 2023.

Shen will remain with the company to support its ongoing efforts to upgrade the organization and position the company for future success, Li Auto's announcement said.

Li Auto's board of directors has promoted chief engineer Ma Donghui to the president and appointed him as a director of the company, effective January 1, 2023.

Xie Yan, the company's senior vice president, has been promoted to chief technology officer, effective December 12, 2022.

"I am very grateful that before Yanan moves on to a different focus in life, he will continue to support our critical organizational upgrades so that we are ready for our ‘one-to-ten' development," said Li Xiang, founder, chairman, and CEO of Li Auto.

"I believe it's now time to take a break and rethink how to create more value for my family and society," said Shen.

Shen is also stepping down from his roles at Li Auto's subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, with his last day at the company expected to be around the end of June 2023 to ensure a smooth transition, the statement from Li Auto said.

Notably, there have been previous indications that Shen will leave Li Auto.

Shen has served as president of Li Auto since November 2015 and has been responsible for the company's overall strategy, business development, supply chain management, and sales and marketing. Prior to joining Li Auto, he served as vice president of Lenovo, where he was responsible for global supply chain operations.

In December 2021, Shen reduced his stake in Li Auto stock nine times, from 1.87 percent on December 6, 2021 to 1.75 percent on December 17.

On September 2, he sold 400,000 shares of Li Auto, reducing his stake to 1.71 percent.

On September 6, Shen sold another 600,000 shares of the company's stock traded in Hong Kong, reducing his stake to 1.68 percent.