Nio, Chinese rival of Tesla, said in the US that he was going to withdraw

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The US leader of Nio Inc. (NIO.N), an electric car manufacturer considered to be one of the main Chinese competitors of Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O), will leave the company, said the company in a document filed Friday, marking the first major departure of management since its IPO in September.

Padmasree Warrior, CEO of NIO USA and Global Development Director, will resign on Dec. 17 for "personal interests," the company said.

Warrior joined Nio, formerly NextEV, in 2015, and led the group, its founder and CEO, William Li, to become one of China's most legitimate competitors in the global race for electric vehicle development.

Prior to joining Nio, Warrior was Director of Technology and Strategy at Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO.O) and director of technology at Motorola.

China is the world's largest and fastest-growing market for new energy vehicles, a category that includes electric battery cars and plug-in electric hybrids.

Sales of NEV in the first 10 months of 2018 reached 860,000 vehicles, up 75.6% year-on-year.

Competition is increasing, however, as Beijing seeks to limit subsidies that have led to a wide range of EV contenders on the market. Some are being eliminated.

Tesla is building a car manufacturing plant in Shanghai itself to strengthen its presence in the market and reduce its prices to become more competitive.

Nio's shares, which have risen sharply this year due to strong revenue growth and optimistic outlooks from some badysts, fell more than 4% in US trading on Thursday.