Xiaomi’s First Electric Car Prototype To Break Cover In August

Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker, is now venturing into the electric car business. The company was said to be working on its first electric car in 2021. Now, a report suggests that Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi, is all set to unveil the prototype in August 2022.

The report states that Jun is burning the midnight oil at the Xiaomi Auto headquarters and monitoring the development of the car. Last year, Jun revealed in an interview, “The first car will definitely not be a sports car or a motorhome; it’d be either a sedan or an SUV.” The company is taking feedback from folks in its home country, China, and various polls indicate that customers want either a sedan or an SUV from Xiaomi at aggressive prices.

Xiaomi’s electric car will be designed by HVST Automobile Design. The company’s first electric car could be priced between 1,00,000 yuan (around ₹12,00,000) and 3,00,000 yuan (around ₹35,60,000). It will come with Level-2 Autonomous or Level-3 Autonomous driving modes. According to Jun, electric cars in the 1,00,000 yuan to 2,50,000 yuan price range are a hot commodity in the country. Hence, it is aiming to introduce its first electric car in this segment. Moreover, cars under 3,00,000 yuan are entitled to EV subsidies in the country, which influenced its decision to develop cars in this category.

Reportedly, Xiaomi will be investing around $1.5 billion initially and over $10 billion in the next 10 years for the development of electric vehicles and infrastructure. Its state-of-the-art facility in Yizhuang, Beijing, is expected to churn out around 3,00,000 units per year. Xiaomi aspires to take on the market leader Tesla and other homegrown EV manufacturers like BYD, NIO, Xpeng, and the likes. Its first electric car will enter mass production in 2024 and the company will be adding two to three models subsequently.