Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi Corporation has revealed plans to launch a smart electric vehicle business and invest $10 billion over the next 10 years. Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, will concurrently serve as the CEO of the smart electric vehicle business.
“The decision was made after numerous rounds of deliberation among all our Partners, and this will be the final major entrepreneurial project of my life. I am willing to put all my personal reputation on the line and fight for the future of our smart electric vehicle! I am determined to lead my team to fight for the success of the Xiaomi electric vehicle,” said Lei Jun.
He also uncovered that in the past 75 days he had witnessed Xiaomi executive team’s thorough decision-making journey, including rigorous and comprehensive research into the electric vehicle industry – 85 meetings with over 200 industry experts, four internal management debates, and two board meetings. Mi Fans’ continuous support and trust in Xiaomi’s values also prompted the company’s final decision.
Xiaomi becomes the latest to pile into China’s booming EV market, where an array of automakers from Tesla, Geely, BYD to local upstarts Nio and Xpeng are battling for a slice of the world’s biggest EV market. Search giant Baidu and Geely are also said to be teaming up to build electric cars.
In an internal letter to employees, Lei Jun stated that Xiaomi has distinct and unique advantages in manufacturing cars:
– Smart electric vehicles have fundamentally transformed the business model of the traditional automotive industry, and Xiaomi has the deepest understanding of the hardware-based internet service business model;
– Xiaomi has the most extensive experience in software and hardware integration, and the most profound manufacturing know-how within the internet industry;
– Xiaomi has a smart ecosystem which is the largest in terms of scale, the most diversified in terms of product category, and the most active in terms of user connections;
– Xiaomi has numerous core technologies that can be applied to smart electric vehicle business;
– Xiaomi has a powerful brand and strong user base, with trust and support from Mi Fans across the globe;
– Xiaomi has abundant cash resources that allow Xiaomi to invest with confidence.
“Smart electric vehicles represent one of the largest business opportunities in the next decade and represent an indispensable component of smart living. Entering this business is a natural choice for us as we expand our smart AIoT ecosystem and fulfill our mission of letting everyone in the world enjoy a better life through innovative technology. ” Lei Jun said.
