Nio's vice president of digital cockpit and software development, Zhang Lei, is leaving the company and will complete the handover by the end of this month, according to local media.

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Nio's (NYSE: NIO) vice president of digital cockpit and software development, Zhang Lei, is leaving the company and will complete the handover at the end of this month, local media outlet AI Drive said in a report today, citing multiple sources.

Zhang joined Nio in September 2019 as vice president of software development, focusing on the digital cockpit business and reporting to CEO William Li.

Prior to Nio, Zhang served as chief architect of Zepp Health, leading the development of hardware including wristbands and smartwatches, the report noted.

He joined Nio during a period when the electric vehicle (EV) maker's software issues were the most complained about, including black screens on in-car display, the report said.

Zhang is based in Nio's US Silicon Valley team, and would spend half the year in China and the rest of the time working remotely, according to the report.

Nio's US team has been shrinking in recent years, and his departure may have something to do with that, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Wu Jie (known in English as Kenn Wu), who is in charge of systems software, will replace Zhang as head of the cockpit, according to the report.

Wu Jie is a pseudonym and public information about him is unavailable, but a person familiar with the matter said he previously worked in the phone business at Huawei, the report said.

Wu will take over a number of departments including the system application and framework department, the forward-looking intelligent systems department, the software quality engineering department, and the navigation and location services department, according to the report.

Nio had tried to recruit a head for AI large models in mid-2023, hoping for the business to provide help to departments related to intelligence, according to AI Drive.

The head of large models could be at a level comparable to Nio's vice president of smart driving research and development, Ren Shaoqing, and cockpit could be a priority, according to the report.

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