Xiaomi he has always been with his hands in numerous projects. Years ago the hypothesis of one was feared capsule to inhabit the Red Planet. Some time ago, however, we heard for the first time of the possibility of the brand to propose its first cars. This news was born more than anything else from the interest of the founder Lei Jun in Tesla. More than once in fact he has been to Elon Musk and asked for advice and prospects for the future. Well, after realizing that Apple will also build its own car, it seems that the CEO of the company has decided. To tell us is a LatePost exclusive report.
UPDATE AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE - 22/03/2021
According to a Chinese report, Xiaomi would really intend to build its first car: it is a long-term project that involves an electric car as a result
According to reports from LatePost, Xiaomi would have decided to build its own electric car. This step is to be considered a strategic decision for the future, which sees more and more companies concentrated in the renewable energy sector. There shape and path through which the brand will decide to move are still unknown and therefore the news, at the moment, must be taken with due caution. But where does the interest in Lei Jun (at the head of the company) in electric cars? In 2013 he went twice to the US to Elon Musk and in front of a company like Tesla, with 20 billion dollars of capital, confirmed to be very curious.
Seven years later, following ups and downs in the smartphone industry, Xiaomi has established itself as the third largest company in the world. It is unlikely that his situation will improve in the next year and therefore it is good to take advantage of the wave of the moment, that is electric cars.
"I have thought about building a car many times, but I haven't decided yet"
Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi
Lei Jun has repeatedly considered the idea of building a car and Xiaomi has also written plans to do so. The first could was that of invest in Weilai in 2015, a leading company in the automotive sector. However, at that time, the CEO did not have optimistic forecasts and for this reason the project went downhill. Subsequently the brand has invested in Xiaopeng Automobile and Shunwei Capital (company founded by Lei Jun himself). Later in 2018, an internal survey was launched within the company asking for opinion on the launch of a named car MiCar.
Basically for about 4 years we have seen Xiaomi invest in the automotive sector but never take a step concrete. An all too strange move for this brand that has always made risk its pride. However we must not forget that this field is still poco wrought and years will have to pass before it takes hold. This is probably the reason why the colossus still does not move.
Returning to the bomb, according to LatePost this year we could see something concrete, at least at the project level. This means that we will not actually know Xiaomi's first car in 2021, but that at least a clue about theexistence of the first car with a license plate Mi come out.
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Another factor must also be taken into consideration. While in 2010 the telephony giant was one of the first forerunner of the smartphone industry, is currently not in the same situation. It is true that the electric car market is still weak, but it is growing and consumers are becoming more informed. In order not to take a misstep, Xiaomi can only wait for a moment when the construction chain will be truly mature; only there then the colossus could enter.
Compared to mobile phones and smart home IoT products, cars represent a greater challenge in terms of complexity, of requirements of safety need investments of capital.
Xiaomi's statements
For the moment, Xiaomi's only statement was: "No comments for now, wait for the company announcement". This is a positive sign in that LatePost's report was not denied, suggesting that the news is true.
UPDATE 1
After numerous inferences about the electric car issue, Xiaomi has decided to leave one official statement via press release. We read verbatim:
Xiaomi Group has always been interested in developing the electric vehicle ecosystem, constantly evaluating the industry and conducting research on trends in related areas. Xiaomi Group's research work in the field of electric vehicles has not yet reached the official stage of the project.
With this official press release, the company answers part of our questions. Through his words we understand that the interest is there and that something is boiling in the pot. It is absolutely not said, however, that in a short time we will see a Xiaomi vehicle.
UPDATE 2
According to a Chinese sources it has been learned from investors close to Lei Jun, executives of auto companies and others familiar with the matter, that Xiaomi is currently accelerating its car building plan and that the project should be established within 1-2 months.
According to what reported, the positioning overall of the car brand initially discussed by the company could be similar to that of Xiaopeng Motors, which uses many innovative technologies to upgrade cars, focusing on the mid-to-high-end market.
The car building plan should be put in the hands of the "veteran" Wang Chuan. He was responsible for the work of many important departments of the group and currently stands exploring the automotive industry on behalf of the company.
22 / 03 / 2021 UPDATE
There are news. The important Chinese newspaper Lei Feng received a tip from internal sources that would have shed light on the background of the story. According to the tipster the project would be "online", meaning it is ready, but it has not yet been decided when to start everything. In fact, it seems that Xiaomi has the question has been set aside for a year now. The goal is to produce the electric car not under the aegis of Lei Jun's company but under that of one controllata.
However, there are problems: first of all the telephony giant must stabilize its high-end device market. By doing so, should problems arise, the company would have more ability to maneuver. Secondly, the establishment of a subsidiary, which would cost around 10 billion dollars, it is not a step to be taken lightly. In essence, the company is not yet ready and it will take years to see the first product.
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