The Chinese electric-car maker NIO Inc is facing a sputtering electric-vehicle demand in China. The situation has even prompted it to raise $200 Mn from founder William Li and a Tencent affiliate and led then to plan to spin off some businesses and reduce jobs. While the firm looks to ramp up sales and avoid cash crunch, one of the key executives it needed in such phase, its Chief Financial Officer has decided to step down. 

Louis Hsieh has resigned as CFO for personal reasons and the company has begin the search for new finance head as the role is important for NIO given the current situation. 

Hsieh had been leading NIO's finance function since 2017 and had been responsible of NIO's fundraising. 

CEO William Li said, "I want to thank Louis for his contributions to NIO and wish him all of the best in his future endeavors."

The electric-car maker has recently made a lot of news with a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss, a revenue drop and then the announcement of layoffs to reduce costs. NIO has been struggling to push its EV vehicles in the presence of weak macroeconomic conditions and a reduction in subsidies for EVs. Its  U.S.-listed shares fell 2 percent to $1.48 in New York. They have fallen 85 percent since peaking in March after an IPO last year, valuing the company at $1.56 Bn. 

NIO's situation is such that a Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu estimated in a report titled “Tick Tock, Tick Tock,”  that the firm has only a few weeks of liquidity left.

To control the costs, NIO recently announced to reduce its global workforce from over 9,000 in January to around 7,800 by the end of the third quarter. It further looks forward to additional restructuring and spin off some non-core businesses by year end.

Now with the exit of the finance head, the electric car maker is in a fix. It has to find a replacement quickly as the role becomes even more critical given the current financial situation. The firm has began the search, let's see who comes on board to help NIO Inc sail through these tough times. As the firm also prepares for the competition from US rival Tesla Inc, which is preparing to start manufacturing in China, it shall look to build a more robust growth strategy. 


Image Credits: CNBC