Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is the latest company that’s looking into building its own electric cars. Xiaomi is reportedly in talks with Great Wall to use one of its factories in China to build electric vehicles under its own brand for the mass market, which would be in line with its products in the electronics industry.
Citing sources with direct knowledge of
the matter, Reuters reports that Xiaomi and Great Wall could announce their
partnership as soon as next week. If the deal goes through, this would be Great
Wall’s first manufacturing service to another company, with the Chinese
carmaker offering engineering consultancy to Xiaomi in order to speed up the
project.
Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder and chief
executive, reportedly believes that his company’s expertise in hardware
manufacturing will help accelerate the design and production of their electric
vehicles. “Xiaomi wants to find a mature automobile manufacturer to provide
model infrastructure, enabling its own advantages in mobile internet
technology,” said Alan Kang, a senior analyst at LMC Automotive. “Xiaomi’s
advantages in operating systems and home furnishing also bring a lot of
imagination for such cooperation in the future.”
Xiaomi, which according to the report is
planning to launch its first electric vehicle around 2023, wants its cars to be
connected with other devices in its product eco-system. Alongside smartphones,
the Chinese tech company also offers a very wide range of internet-connected
devices that includes everything from fitness trackers to scooters and rice
cookers.
