Ex-NIO Tech Lead Departs; Exec Denies Chip Involvement

CNBC AI News – July 2, 2025 – NIO’s Chief Expert of Technology Planning and Assistant Vice President, Hu Chengchen, announced his departure from the company via a Weibo post.

Following this announcement, several self-media outlets quickly reported that Hu’s “primary prior achievement was the successful implementation of NIO’s autonomous driving chip project.”

Upon verification, the information attributed to Hu’s achievements appears to originate from a Baidu Baike entry. It’s important to note that Baidu Baike entries are user-generated and subject to editorial review, rather than being officially curated by Baidu.

Today, NIO’s Assistant Vice President of Brand and Communication, Ma Lin, issued a statement clarifying the situation. He stated, “Our chip team possesses strong capabilities, enjoys stability, and has no core members departing.”

Ma Lin further elaborated, addressing the widespread speculation linking Hu Chengchen, the company’s former Head of Technology Planning, to the chip development team, “There seems to be a misunderstanding associating him with our chip development efforts. To clarify, during his tenure at NIO, Hu Chengchen was primarily responsible for collaborating with various R&D departments to research and formulate the company’s long-term technology roadmap and implementation plans. He was not involved in chip development or related work.”

This clarification comes on the heels of NIO’s founder, Chairman, and CEO, William Li, announcing on social media on July 1st that NIO’s in-house World Model (NWM) is being progressively rolled out to the ET9, new ES6, new EC6, new ET5, and new ET5T models.

This rollout signifies that NIO’s self-developed, globally first automotive-grade 5nm intelligent driving chip, the NX9031, has achieved its design targets for application performance. Li highlighted that the NX9031 significantly enhances the safety and experiential ceiling for NIO’s new vehicle models, and on a commercial front, it contributes to a marked increase in the gross profit margin per vehicle for NIO.