Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi adds electric vehicle to its mobility offerings
- Reference: 1710311409
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/03/13/xiaomi_ev_ready/
- Source link:
In a [1]Weibo post , the biz – which is famed around the world for well-priced smartphones, and sells electric toothbrushes, wireless routers, smartphones, rice cookers at home – promised to ramp up volume at its “Xiaomi EV” unit after the March 28 launch.
[2]
The Xiaomi SU7 EV - Click to enlarge
"In 29 cities across the country, 59 stores have opened reservations simultaneously," Xiaomi’s EV unit announced in a social media post.
On Wednesday, chief executive Lei Jun [3]claimed those stores had booked 100,000 new appointments for curious drivers following news of the car’s launch.
The day prior, he [4]maintained Xiaomi EV was confident it could compete in an industry that is currently "very fierce." Lei noted that the mobile phone business differed greatly from the auto market in terms of growth stage and user expectations.
[5]Surprise! China's top Android phones collect way more info
[6]Chinese 'connected' cars are a national security threat, says Biden
[7]Watchdog calls for more plugs, less monopoly in EV charging network
[8]Alibaba smart electric vehicles now in mass production
Xiaomi will only sell its car in China, an unusual move. Western – and in particular, US-based – EV-makers like [9]Tesla compete in Asia. And Chinese brands like BYD and Polestar (A Volvo brand, Volvo is majority owned by China’s Geely) sell outside the Middle Kingdom.
Those Chinese brands may soon hit bumpy roads as in late February US president Joe Biden [10]announced an investigation into Chinese smart cars and their potential as a national security threat. The commander-in-chief claimed that his concern was that cars made in China and sold in the US might potentially collect sensitive data and transmit it overseas – and the cars could even be remotely accessed or disabled.
[11]
That stance may deprive US buyers of the SU7, which Lei Jun [12]reportedly claimed has better acceleration than either Porsche or Tesla EVs.
[13]
If only that were the measure of success.
The most important thing for Xiaomi EV, according to Lei, is smart technology. And in China, EV success at the moment seems to be all about the bells and whistles – or rather [14]sleeping kits, heartbeat monitors and in-car gaming . ®
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[1] https://weibo.com/7871239944/O4CQ8pPIf
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/03/13/supplied_xiaomi_su7_ev.jpg
[3] https://weibo.com/u/1749127163
[4] https://weibo.com/1749127163/O4E6x19M8
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/07/chinese_android_phones_leak_pii/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/29/chinese_connected_cars_are_a/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/05/uk_cma_ev_charging/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/07/alibaba_smart_electric_vehicles/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/27/tesla_announced_china_data_center/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/29/chinese_connected_cars_are_a/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZfGHS4wHBaL4a122C7PEGAAAANE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/china-smartphone-maker-xiaomi-unveils-first-electric-vehicle-2023-12-28/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZfGHS4wHBaL4a122C7PEGAAAANE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://fortune.com/asia/2024/03/10/china-electric-vehicles-competition-spurs-unusual-features-byd/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: If Xiaomi want to be taken seriously
I'd have thought as a sedan and not a crossover SUV it was fairly unique for a new model these days.
Re: If Xiaomi want to be taken seriously
"I'd have thought as a sedan and not a crossover SUV it was fairly unique for a new model these days."
Well it would be unique if it weren't for the fact that Porsche launched the Taycan back in 2019. Do a search, compare the cars.
Chinese innovation at its finest.
Re: If Xiaomi want to be taken seriously
I'm more interested in the means by which a smartphone company has branched out into the manufacture (or at least supply) of such a diverse range of goods with no obvious synergies - [1]smart cooking robots , [2]pet-food feeders and [3]luggage , for example - before we even get to electric cars. It's certainly a very different approach than western companies which tend to stick closely to their core markets.
[1] https://www.mi.com/uk/product/xiaomi-smart-cooking-robot/
[2] https://www.mi.com/uk/product/xiaomi-smart-pet-food-feeder/
[3] https://www.mi.com/uk/xiaomi-luggage-classic-20/
Re: If Xiaomi want to be taken seriously
It's not that different to the Korean chaebol and the Japanese keiretsu, and I think it reflects a combination that cultural those parts of the world see nothing amiss in this, management have greater liberty to take what they claim is a longer term view, and shareholder activism and power is very low.
Apple of course tried to develop a car, but quietly abandoned it, and any Western company that starts to diversify will soon find itself besieged by shareholder activists who think they can make a quick killing by breaking up a conglomerate or closing down divisions that dilute the returns from a profitable core business.
Tesla
Tesla models look a bit like hospital urine bottle on wheels.
Xiaomi slightly improves that impression, whatever it means.
If Xiaomi want to be taken seriously
Then perhaps the way to do that isn't to ape another manufacturer's product quite as blatantly. Y'know, a bit of original design perhaps? Maybe it's that they can't.