Xiaomi planning to launch first EV in 2024

New details are now emerging about Xiaomi’s electric car plans, which will involve launching its first model in 2024. The following three years will see another 3 models released and looks like involving two factories in China.

In March this year Xiomi announced plans to manufacture EVs ” and completed the trade registration of its new car subsidiary earlier this month. Xiaomi is to invest $10 billion (around 8.5 billion euros) in the electric car business over the next ten years.

According to reports in Chinese media, the company’s first model will be launched in the first half of 2024. Another model is to follow in each of the following three years. It is also said that Xiaomi expects to sell 900,000 vehicles within the first three years. The media reports refer to “persons familiar with the matter” but have not been followed by official announcements from the company itself.

The Chinese industry service CINNOResearch, cites anonymous sources, saying that Xiaomi wants to take a two-pronged approach to ramping up production by buying an existing plant and building another on its own. Xiaomi is said to be eyeing the Borgward plant in Miyun Park in Beijing aiming for a relatively short lead time for the start of production. The production capacity at the plant is said to be 180,000 units per year. According to information from CINNOResearch, the second plant that the new subsidiary is planning to build on its own could be located in Wuhan’s Hannan district.

Since March, media reports indicate that Xiaomi has been in talks with numerous companies, including car manufacturers and suppliers, and making investments in other companies. A few weeks ago, for example, the company announced the acquisition of Deepmotion Tech, a Beijing-based startup for which Xiaomi reportedly shelled out 77 million dollars. The group has also been linked to an investment in Evergrande. According to the Chinese publication ChinaStarMarket in August, Hong Kong based realestate giant Evergrande could sell off its car business in the wake of the debt crisis and was therefore holding takeover talks with several companies, “including Nio, Xpeng and Xiaomi”. Reuters and Der Spiegel also wrote that Xiaomi is one of the closest candidates for entry.

According to an earlier report by Reuters, Xiaomi is alternatively said to be in a deal with Great Wall Motor. Reuters reports that although Great Wall is not yet active as a contract manufacturer it has offered its services in this case. So far no official confirmations have been revealed. In the smartphone sector, Xiaomi also works closely with iPhone producer Foxconn, which has itself unveiled an electric car platform called MIH and has also set up an eMobility contract manufacturer with Geely.

Xiaomi itself has made a name for itself as a smartphone manufacturer and is one of China’s most popular smartphone brands. Over the years, the company has also successfully established products in the field of household electronics, such as battery-powered hoovers or air purifiers. The entry into the automotive market is now to be financed primarily from the company’s own funds: According to the annual report for 2020, the group has cash of 100 billion yuan, around 13 billion euros. In the second quarter of 2021, the group’s revenue and net profit also reached a new high: quarterly revenue rose 64% year-on-year to RMB 87.8 billion (around 11.5 billion euros), while adjusted net profit climbed 87.4% year-on-year to RMB 6.3 billion (around 820 million euros).

Including reporting by Cora Werwitzke

cnevpost.com, eet-china.com (in Chinese)