After unveiling the first electric car on Thursday, Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, declared its goal to rank among the top five automakers globally.
Called the SU7, the sedan is a much awaited model that is anticipated to maximize the use of its common operating system with the company’s well-liked phones.
However, the vehicle’s release coincides with the biggest auto market in the world struggling with a glut of available capacity and declining demand, which has fueled a brutal price war.
Lei Jun, the chief executive of Xiaomi, continued to express lofty goals despite this, including the creation of “a dream car comparable to Porsche and Tesla”.
“By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, we will become one of the world’s top 5 automakers, striving to lift China’s overall automobile industry,” Lei told the crowd.
Similar to many other tech companies, Xiaomi has been attempting to expand into electric vehicles (EVs) as a side project, which it first announced in 2021.
Reluctant to add to the glut of EVs, the government of China has made a commitment to $10 billion (approximately Rs. 83,171 crore) in automobiles over a ten-year period, making it one of the few new entrants in the market.
Xiaomi cars will have the best autonomous driving technology available in the market, Lei stated during the launch event in Beijing.
At a Beijing plant with a 200,000 vehicle annual capacity, a division of state-owned automaker BAIC Group will produce the cars under the Xiaomi brand.
