Chinese tech giant Xiaomi Bets Big on Its New Electric Vehicle(EV) market by setting an ambitious goal of selling 20 million premium EVs by 2030. At its recent annual product launch event, Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun unveiled the company’s new high-end EV brand “Xiaomi Pilot” and showcased its first model slated to hit the roads in 2024.
“We have deep expertise in hardware, software, and internet services, with an amazing supply chain capability,” said Lei Jun. “We can offer more products at better prices than our competitors. We are confident we can one day produce very sophisticated and advanced models for everyone,” he added.
Industry experts see Xiaomi’s EV play as a natural extension of its electronics ecosystem. “Xiaomi already has an existing user base of over 500 million globally. Leveraging that customer reach for its automotive play is a strategic move,” said Wang Chao, Research Director at Shanghai-based Sino Auto Insights.
Ambitious Volume Targets
While China already has popular EV brands like BYD, Nio, and Xpeng, Xiaomi aims to differentiate itself by focusing on technologically advanced premium vehicles. The company has set a target to sell over 20 million EVs by 2030, which would imply capturing over 15% of China’s projected overall EV market by that year.
“20 million is an impressive target. But Xiaomi has executed well to capture market share with its phones and other devices,” said Emma Chen, Senior Analyst at Beijing-based Cleantech Research. “With its supply chain mastery, we feel Xiaomi can scale up EV production rapidly,” she added.
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Software Focus
Xiaomi also plans to load its EVs with advanced self-driving and software capabilities enabled by state-of-the-art sensors. “We envision our EVs to be extremely safe, reliable, and ultimately, self-driving,” noted Lei Jun. “Software, intelligence, and self-driving capabilities will differentiate us from numerous EV players in China.”
Xiaomi intends to invest $10 billion in its EV division over the next 10 years and has global ambitions for its EVs. “We will enter international markets after achieving some scale domestically over the next 3-5 years,” said Lei.
Industry Consolidation Ahead
China already has over 500 registered EV manufacturers. Industry experts expect significant consolidation as technology and software capabilities become key differentiators.
“Many EV makers do not have deep software or self-driving expertise. As EVs advance, we will see some shakeouts and mergers,” commented Chen of Cleantech Research. “Firms like Xiaomi and Huawei with top-notch software capabilities will have an edge going forward.”
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“We have deep expertise in hardware, software, and internet services, with an amazing supply chain capability, we believe we can offer more products at better prices than our competitors.” – Lei Jun, Founder of Xiaomi
“Xiaomi already has an existing user base of over 500 million globally. Leveraging that customer reach for its automotive play is a strategic move.” – Wang Chao, Research Director, Sino Auto Insights
“20 million is an impressive target. But Xiaomi has executed well in the past to capture market share with its phones and other devices.” – Emma Chen, Senior Analyst, Cleantech Research
“We envision our EVs to be extremely safe, reliable, and ultimately, self-driving. Software, intelligence, and self-driving capabilities will differentiate us from numerous EV players in China.” – Lei Jun, Founder of Xiaomi
