Xiaomi making electric vehicles was announced and now the news about its production plans is being revealed one by one. Xiaomi is reportedly in talks with Beijing Automotive Group to establish a partnership. The company is looking for production tie-ups and aims to produce its own vehicles by 2024. Additionally, the technology company is looking out to buy a stake in Beijing Hyundai No. 2.
Sources familiar with the matter shared the discussions are at a preliminary level, there’s no guarantee that the negotiation would lead to an agreement. However, the collaboration would allow Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun will help the brand to go ahead with an investment of about $10 billion over a decade to start building Xiaomi-branded cars in 2024. The report also stated that China has been increasing scrutiny of EV firms after numerous companies came into the EV sector, lured by tax breaks and government subsidies. Beijing is currently encouraging mergers and acquisitions in order to better deploy resources within the industry.
Last year, it was also announced that Xiaomi will open a car manufacturing unit in Beijing with an annual output of 3,00,000 vehicles. It was stated that the factory will be constructed in two phases along with building the company’s headquarters, sales, and research offices.
Getting approvals
A recent report stated that Xiaomi is facing difficulties to get regulatory approval for its electric vehicle project. China’s National Development and Reform Commission has given the Chinese smartphone company the approval for the required licensing that it applied for. The company also launched an internally developed autonomous driving technology called Pilot Technology. The brand is trying to establish a research and development team to take its self-driving technology segment forward.
While the negotiations are still on, the deal could be far from final. Xiaomi hasn’t made any official statement about the partnership. The company’s co-founder Lei Jun had promised to invest $10 billion in the production of Xiaomi electric cars. Xiaomi announced its interest in making electric vehicles last year and the company started building its first EV factory earlier this year. The plant in question is expected to have a capacity of 3 lakh units.
Xiaomi is not the only tech company that is aiming at the EV sector. American giant Apple is also planning to introduce its first electric car as early as 2025. However, the company has been hitting a lot of obstacles in developing Project Titan. More partnerships and alliances are expected before the actual production starts.
