As a representative of the National People’s Congress, Lei Jun, the founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, said at the plenary meeting of the Beijing Youth League: With the great concern and support of the leaders, the progress of Xiaomi’s car manufacturing has exceeded expectations. The winter test has been successfully completed, and it is expected to achieve mass production in the first half of next year.
"Xiaomi is a Beijing-based company, and it will definitely take root in Beijing and make due contributions to the capital's technological innovation and economic development."
According to the available information, Xiaomi is targeting a pure electric four-door coupe. The battery is expected to come from BYD’s Fudi Battery, and the lidar is from Hesai Technology.
Two of the three suggestions Lei Jun put forward at the meeting this year are related to the automobile industry. Lei Jun said before that now he spends 1/2 of his time and energy on Xiaomi cars, and 1/4 of his time on Xiaomi phones, IoT and high-end, “strive to enter the top five in the world in 15-20 years.”
He suggested vigorously developing automobile culture to help my country transform from a big automobile country to a powerful automobile country:
- Guide the creation of richer automotive cultural scenes, provide a stage for the development of automotive culture, and provide richer application scenarios for advanced automotive products and technologies.
- Moderately loosen restrictions on car refitting, establish national standards for refitting spare parts and the automotive aftermarket, and provide soil for the development of a diverse and innovative car culture.
- Fully implement restrictions on the relocation of second-hand cars, release restrictions on categories such as pickup trucks entering the city, and expand the scope of influence of car culture and the mass base.
He suggested that my country build and improve the automobile data security management system:
- Accelerate the formulation of data security standards for the entire life cycle of automobiles to guide the development of the industry.
- Establish a vehicle data security certification and evaluation mechanism.
- Build a car data sharing mechanism and platform to promote the sharing and use of car data.
According to previous reports, both versions of Xiaomi cars are equipped with Qualcomm’s next-generation smart cockpit chip and Nvidia’s Orin X chip, which supports lidar. Among them, the high-end version is based on the 800V high-voltage platform and is equipped with the Kirin battery of CATL; the low-end version is based on the 400V platform and is equipped with BYD lithium iron phosphate batteries.
In addition, it is reported that the new car is expected to be released within the year as soon as possible and will be released in 2024. The source also said that Xiaomi is also working on a second mass-produced car (internal code-named Le mans), which is planned to be launched in 2025.
Lei Jun previously revealed in his annual speech in August 2022 that Xiaomi’s autonomous driving needs to be fully self-developed. It has formed a team of 500 people and plans to expand to 600 people by the end of 2022. The goal is to enter the autonomous driving industry in 2024. camp.
Regarding the profitability of Xiaomi cars, Lei Jun said that (Xiaomi cars) have long been the same as Xiaomi phones, in addition to hardware profits, they care more about software profits. In the past, cars could integrate sales, after-sales service, and charging piles. In the future, cars can integrate more and more services.
Regarding the question of whether the mass production of automobiles in 2024 is too late, Lei Jun believes that new car-making forces are 6-7 years ahead of Xiaomi. It’s never too late. “Our capabilities are in the operation and maintenance of electronics and user experience. The current electric vehicles are all in our points, so I think our car launch in 2024 is just right.”
It was previously reported that Xiaomi’s first car, code-named MS11, may be equipped with 800V technology and a 260kW electric bridge. It is expected to be officially mass-produced in January 2024. It is reported that the first engineering vehicle has already rolled off the assembly line on September 28, 2022.
In addition, there are reports that Xiaomi has confirmed that the main suppliers of power batteries are Ningde Times and BYD’s Fudi Battery, and the lidar will use Hesai Technology. Xiaomi’s team is developing self-driving technology and is currently integrating software. And the price ceiling of this upcoming sedan is expected to be higher than 300,000 CNY.
In March 2021, Xiaomi Group officially announced that it would end up building cars; on September 1 of the same year, Xiaomi Automobile Co., Ltd. was established with the legal representative Lei Jun and registered capital of 10 billion CNY; on November 27 of the same year, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee Formally signed a cooperation agreement with Xiaomi, officially announcing that Xiaomi cars will settle in the Beijing Economic Development Zone.
Xiaomi will build a Xiaomi automobile headquarters base, sales headquarters, and R&D headquarters in the Beijing Economic Development Zone. It will build a vehicle factory with an annual output of 300,000 vehicles in two phases, of which the first and second phases will have a capacity of 150,000 vehicles respectively. It is estimated that in 2024 The first car will roll off the assembly line and achieve mass production.
The financial report shows that Xiaomi will invest 829 million CNY in innovative businesses including automobiles in the third quarter of 2022, and the research and development team of Xiaomi cars has exceeded 1,800 people.
