The maker of smartphones and electronic devices Xiaomi became the latest Chinese company to formally enter the automotive industry on Wednesday, with the announcement of the creation of a dedicated subsidiary.
World number two in smartphones, Xiaomi also produces touch tablets, connected watches, headphones, scooters and even scooters.
Based in Beijing, the group will now design electric vehicles.
The company “Xiaomi Auto was officially registered [this] September 1,” Group CEO Lei Jun said on his Weibo account.
The company has a capital of 10 billion dollars, he said.
As a sign of the importance given by the group to this new activity, Lei Jun had personally launched in July the recruitment of 500 engineers in China.
No marketing date has been given.
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In April, the CEO of Xiaomi indicated that the brand's first model would probably be “a sedan or an SUV”.
New energy vehicles (hybrids, electrics, fuel cells) are booming in China, a country at the forefront in this field, thanks in particular to an ultra-connected population and an incentive policy from the authorities.
National and foreign manufacturers are competing to take advantage of this outlet.
And Xiaomi is by far not the first Chinese firm to venture into this sector.
Xiaomi's success story
Several are experiencing renewed investor interest, for example with the XPeng and Li Auto groups, which were listed on the stock market last year in the United States but also listed in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, more established players like the German groups Volkswagen or BMW have made commitments for the future, with fully electric models due to be produced in China.
Founded in 2010, Xiaomi has seen tremendous growth in recent years by offering high-end devices at affordable prices, and initially selling them directly online.
Almost unknown abroad in its early days, the brand was at the time regularly mocked for its products strongly inspired by the Apple iPhone.
Xiaomi became the world's number two smartphone in the second quarter, dethroning the apple brand.
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In August, Evergrande, one of China's most indebted groups, announced talks with Xiaomi over its Evergrande Auto subsidiary.
Founded in 2019 with the ambition to revolutionize the electric, Evergrande Auto still does not market any vehicle for the time being and has incurred 4.9 billion yuan (640 million euros) in losses in the first half of the year.
