Xiaomi had quite a busy two days, and yesterday was all about a bunch of Mi 11’s while today, Xiaomi announced its plan for EVs and the Mi Mix Fold and Mi Notebook Pro. So it means that after democratizing the smartphone industry, Xiaomi is all set to shake up the automobile segment.
In an official announcement, Xiaomi shared that it plans to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary with an estimated investment of $10 billion over 10 years, starting with an initial investment of $1.5 billion. Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, will be seeing over Xiaomi’s EV division.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Chinese smartphone giant will invest 100 billion yuan in the next three years, with 60% of the Chinese electronics giant’s total investment, while the rest of the funds will be raised externally.
Recently Reuters reported that Xiaomi would be partnering with Great Wall Motor Co Ltd to build its electric vehicle. If sources are to be believed, an official announcement regarding the team-up could be coming in weeks. The rumours suggest that Xiaomi’s first electric car will be debuting in 2023, much before the Apple Car.
Huawei Might Join Xiaomi in the EV Race Soon
Well, Xioami is not going to be alone as rumours have suggested that Huawei is also looking to build EVs. An alleged source has claimed that Huawei has approached Changan Automobile and BluePark New Energy Technology regarding its electric vehicle plans.
Xiaomi will be joining the many other smartphone manufacturers, including Cupertino giant, Apple which is rumoured to be working on a smart electric vehicle. Moreover, Chinese search giant Baidu Inc. and Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd are also collaborating to build electric cars.
Meanwhile, Samsung and LG have been developing batteries for electric vehicles for quite a time now, and Samsung also acquired infotainment giant Harman a few years ago. So both Samsung and LG have their hands dipped in the automobile industry already, and it won’t take them long to follow up with others.