Xiaomi said to debut first car in 2024

Beijing (Gasgoo)- Tech giant Xiaomi plans to debut its first EV model in 2024, sources close to the matter told a local media outlet. Xiaomi EV will be releasing a new model each year three years after the debut of its first vehicle in 2024 and expects a three-year sales volume of 900,000 vehicles. Xiaomi Group gave “no comment” regarding the matter.

Lei Jun; photo credit: Xiaomi

2024 is not an optimal time to make a debut in the ever-changing intelligent electric vehicle era. As a newcomer to the intelligent EV field, Xiaomi does not have a head start. According to people in contact with Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, that the executive is aware of the intense competition the company will face after its debut; therefore, he decided to adopt a 10% loss in BoM as a way to compete in the playing field. 

In order to speed up the automaking process, Xiaomi has completed investments in AIPARK (smart parking solutions provider), ZongmuTech (ADAS technology provider), Hesai Technology (LiDAR supplier), Shanghai Geometrical-PAL (intelligent vehicle supply chain company), DeepMotion (autonomous driving technology company), Ganfeng Lithium Group (battery manufacturer) and SVOLT Energy Technology (former Battery Business Unit of Great Wall Motor).

Even before Xiaomi’s official announcement of automaking, Lei Jun’s venture capital company, Shunwei Capital, has already been plowing the field of intelligent vehicles for Xiaomi. The venture capital once invested in Benewake (LiDAR manufacturer), AECS (automotive electronics company), CassTime (auto-parts supplier), 70mai (smart car electronics supplier), CareLand (navigation system provider), and Momenta (autonomous driving solution provider).

In the meantime, Xiaomi EV is actively recruiting talents to catch up with the already established automakers. Since July, the group has made massive, lucrative offers for vehicle research and development posts. During the company’s second-quarter financial report analytic meeting, Wang Xiang, the president of Xiaomi, stated, during the five months of automaking, Xiaomi EV has set up a growing team of almost 300 people, each of them carefully selected from over 20,000 applications.

Xiaomi is resourceful when it comes to recruitment. The group acquired DeepMotion for its core intelligent driving team. This acquisition directly brought Xiaomi an autonomous driving R&D team of over 30 people all at once.

On September 7th, the former president of Geely Automotive Research Institute, Hu Zhengnan, joined Xiaomi-backed Shunwei Capital as a venture partner. Hu Zhengnan has ample experience in the automaking industry as he has participated in developing numerous vehicles for major Chinese automakers, including BYD, Geely, Great Wall Motor, and Changan Auto.

According to the company, Xiaomi EV is beginning its next round of recruitment for 500 staff, focusing on experts in the intelligent driving field.