Xiaomi Jumping into Electric Vehicles "Investing $10 Billion Over 10 Years" (Comprehensive)

Xiaomi Announces Major Plans for the Next 10 Years
Announces Start of Smart Electric Vehicle Business
Founder Lei Jun "Directly Leading"
Foreign Media Predicts First Car Launch in 2023

Photo by Lei Jun, Founder and CEO of Xiaomi, Twitter

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Xiaomi announced plans to invest $10 billion (approximately 11.35 trillion KRW) in its smart electric vehicle business over the next 10 years.

According to foreign media such as Bloomberg and GSMArena on the 31st, Xiaomi announced on the 30th (local time) that it will start its smart electric vehicle business. The electric vehicle business will be established and operated as a separate subsidiary wholly owned by Xiaomi. Xiaomi plans to invest $10 billion over the next 10 years, with an initial investment of $1.5 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW).

Xiaomi's management held 85 meetings with about 200 industry experts over the past 75 days and conducted four internal discussions. After two board meetings and other procedures, the company made the final decision to enter the electric vehicle industry.

Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO, said, "This decision was made after much consideration with all partners, and the electric vehicle business will be the last major project of my life." He added, "I will fight for the future of Xiaomi’s smart electric vehicles with all my personal reputation on the line."

Xiaomi's new logo. It embodies the value of being "alive."

He continued, "Smart electric vehicles will be one of the biggest business opportunities over the next 10 years and an indispensable element of smart life," adding, "As a company expanding the smart AIoT ecosystem to fulfill the mission of 'enabling people worldwide to enjoy a better life through innovative technology,' entering the electric vehicle business is a natural choice."

Xiaomi plans to continue developing the smart living sector based on its 'Smartphone X AIoT' strategy and expand its foundation. AIoT is a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), and Xiaomi has been focusing on AIoT software development since the early days of the group.

Lei Jun shared this news on Twitter, stating, "I will personally lead the project." He also posted photos from the 'Xiaomi Mega Launch 2021 (Xiaomi Spring Festival New Product Launch 2021)' event.

Xiaomi’s first electric vehicle launch is expected in two years. Previously, foreign media reported, citing sources, that Xiaomi is negotiating to produce Xiaomi-branded cars at one of the Chuangcheng Automobile factories in China and is expected to release its first electric vehicle around 2023.

Meanwhile, to mark this new beginning, Xiaomi also unveiled a new logo. The new logo, characterized by soft and rounded contours, was designed by renowned designer Kenya Hara and embodies Xiaomi’s value of being 'alive.' The new concept visually interprets Xiaomi’s philosophy, meaning 'people are alive, technology is created by people, and therefore technology is also alive.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.