(Yicai Global) July 18 -- Backed by troubled internet technology company LeEco, Faraday Future (FF), the electric vehicle startup, has appointed Ulrich Kranz, former general manager of BMW i-series project, as chief technology officer (CTO), said an internal company message. Kranz will take charge of research and development (R&D) and design of electric vehicle products at FF. Bloomberg first reported the news. However, the appointment has yet to be made public.

LeEco has recently become the market focus due to its debt problems. The electric vehicle producer FF invested in the US by Jia Yueting, founder of LeEco, recently came under spotlight because of vague financing prospects, change of plant construction plan and doubts about production of its electric vehicle FF91.

The public information show Kranz worked for BMW for more than 30 years, having been responsible for developing BMW chassis products and complete vehicle products. He also served as the project manager for BMW X5 production line.  'BMW i' series is known to be developed by Kranz, with debut of BMW i3, i8 and other products in succession in 2007 when he was in full charge of the series' product design, R&D and production. Ulrich Kranz is, therefore, touted as "the father of BMW i series project."

A BMW senior executive can be regarded as a natural candidate for the CEO position at FF. However, in the light of present circumstances, the company may be holding the CEO post for another candidate although FF didn't reveal any details concerning the possible candidate, a former FF employee told Yicai Global last month. "If Jia wanted to be CEO, he would have long taken it. He must have been faced with many pressures," the FF employee told Yicai Global.

FF's CEO appointment is expected to be announced in the near future, as Faraday Future's A-round financing plan is set to be released in the second half of this year.