Faraday Future is replacing CEO Carsten Breitfeld amid an overhaul of the company’s board of directors.
The Los Angeles-based EV startup said in a filing Monday that its board voted Nov. 26 to remove Breitfeld, a former BMW executive, from his post and replace him with Xuefeng Chen, who currently leads Faraday’s China division.
The board has asked Breitfeld to resign following a “comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the company since it went public in July 2021,” the company said.
Breitfeld did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Breitfeld’s ouster comes after a months-long battle between the company and its largest shareholders, including a group associated with founder Jia Yueting.
Breitfeld spent 20 years at BMW, where he led the i8 plug-in hybrid sportscar as group vice president. He also led engineering divisions for BMW in chassis development, powertrain development and corporate strategy.
Before joining Faraday, Breitfeld co-founded and was chairman and CEO of Chinese EV maker Byton. He was also CEO of Iconiq Motors.
