Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone giant, is moving full steam ahead with its plan to enter the smartphone market electric cars. After officially announcing its intention to build vehicles in March 2021, the company has already obtained approval from Chinese authorities and started prototype production. Now, thanks to spy photos published online, we can get an idea of what the design of his first car will look like.
New spy photos reveal the design of the first Xiaomi car
The photos appeared on the site xiaohongshu, show the body of what should be Xiaomi's electric car, wrapped in camouflage which however fails to hide some interesting details. This is a sedan with frameless doors, hidden handles and a charging socket located at the rear of the body. On the speaker positioned on the doors, you can see the Xiaomi logo, confirming that it is a model made by the company.
Xiaomi has declared that it intends to invest 10 billion yuan (about 1,37 billion euros) in its automotive business in the first phase, with a forecast of 10 billion dollars (about 8,5 billion euros) over the next 10 years. The company has also signed a contract with Beijing authorities to build a base for its headquarters, a sales office and a research and development site in Yizhuang, where a factory with an annual production capacity of 300.000 vehicles will also be built.
The factory will be built in two phases, with one capacity of 150.000 units each, and Xiaomi's first car is expected to roll off the production line and go into mass production in 2024. Xiaomi has released little information on the progress of its car-building efforts over the past two years, with its executives having only reiterated that the first electric car model will be launched in 2024.
In late August 2021, Reuters reported that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which oversees new investment and capacity in China's automotive sector, approved Xiaomi's production of electric cars. Xiaomi's electric car unit has become the fourth company to receive NDRC approval since 2017.
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