On Thursday, Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone giant, unveiled its first electric vehicle and declared its goal to join the top five carmakers in the world.
The SU7, a sedan model, is eagerly awaited by the market as it is expected to leverage its operating system that is compatible with the company’s phones.
However, the car faces a tough challenge as it enters the world’s biggest auto market that is plagued by oversupply and falling demand that have triggered a fierce price competition. This did not deter Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun from expressing his grand vision of creating “a dream car that can rival Porsche and Tesla”.
“We will work hard for the next 15 to 20 years to become one of the world’s top 5 automakers, aiming to elevate China’s overall automobile industry,” Lei said at the event.
Xiaomi is one of the few tech companies that have ventured into EVs, a move that it announced in 2021, as a way to diversify its core business. It has committed to invest $10 billion in cars over a decade and is one of the rare newcomers in China’s EV market as the authorities have been cautious about adding more supply.
At the event in Beijing, Lei said the Xiaomi cars would have the leading autonomous driving features in the industry.
The cars with the Xiaomi brand will be manufactured by a subsidiary of BAIC Group (1958.HK), a state-owned carmaker, in a Beijing plant that can produce 200,000 vehicles per year.
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