Xiaomi has officially confirmed that the company is getting into the electric car business. It will set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to run its electric vehicle business. The company will also invest an estimated $10 billion over the next 10 years, starting with an initial investment of $1.5 billion.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun will also serve as CEO of the electric vehicle subsidiary.
Xiaomi isn’t the only smartphone brand exploring electric cars. Huawei is also rumored to be exploring the EVs segment. Apple is also reportedly working on Electric cars. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun believes that Xiaomi’s experience with hardware design will give the company a competitive advantage. Xiaomi makes a lot of products ranging from smartphones to rice cookers.
Samsung and LG are currently working on batteries for electric vehicles. It will be interesting to see if these brands also come to the EVs segment.
As per a few other reports, Xiaomi will work with Chinese SUV maker Great Wall Motors and will also use its manufacturing facility for elector cars. But there is no confirmation from Xiaomi or Great Wall on these rumours. Now when Xiaomi has announced its plans, we should know more details in the coming months.
