After Apple, another tech giant plans to step into the automotive industry, and this time, it’s coming straight from China.
It’s Xiaomi, the company whose sales in the smartphone and wearable markets are on the rise. The tech giant is reportedly planning to build an electric vehicle that would compete against the Apple Car and Tesla.
A report from local media indicates that Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun himself will be involved in the project, as he wants to make sure everything goes according to the plan. And right now, it looks like the plan isn’t to build an affordable vehicle, which would make sense for a company that wants to capture market share but to focus on the high-end market.
And while for some, this may sound a little bit surprising, it certainly isn’t, as Xiaomi’s goal is to compete against Apple in the long term. As everybody knows already, all Apple products come with a premium price tag, which is also likely to be the case of the upcoming Apple Car.
Just like its Cupertino-based rival, Xiaomi wants the EV to shine in terms of tech, so it’ll integrate many of its existing innovations.
On the other hand, while Apple has a hard time finding someone to build its EV, Xiaomi could always turn to the local automakers who are more than willing to help with the project, especially given the company’s ambitious plans involving an international launch of the car.
According to the cited source, Xiaomi officials have already met with NIO representatives, and local automaker BYD might be involved in the project too.
If the talks go according to the plan and an agreement is reached, then work on the project should kick off as soon as this month or in April. In theory, Xiaomi is probably hoping it could bring its EV to the market at about the same time as Apple.
While the iPhone maker has so far remained tight-lipped on its EV, the Apple Car could see the daylight in 2024 at the earliest.
A report from local media indicates that Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun himself will be involved in the project, as he wants to make sure everything goes according to the plan. And right now, it looks like the plan isn’t to build an affordable vehicle, which would make sense for a company that wants to capture market share but to focus on the high-end market.
And while for some, this may sound a little bit surprising, it certainly isn’t, as Xiaomi’s goal is to compete against Apple in the long term. As everybody knows already, all Apple products come with a premium price tag, which is also likely to be the case of the upcoming Apple Car.
Just like its Cupertino-based rival, Xiaomi wants the EV to shine in terms of tech, so it’ll integrate many of its existing innovations.
On the other hand, while Apple has a hard time finding someone to build its EV, Xiaomi could always turn to the local automakers who are more than willing to help with the project, especially given the company’s ambitious plans involving an international launch of the car.
According to the cited source, Xiaomi officials have already met with NIO representatives, and local automaker BYD might be involved in the project too.
If the talks go according to the plan and an agreement is reached, then work on the project should kick off as soon as this month or in April. In theory, Xiaomi is probably hoping it could bring its EV to the market at about the same time as Apple.
While the iPhone maker has so far remained tight-lipped on its EV, the Apple Car could see the daylight in 2024 at the earliest.