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China’s smartphone maker Xiaomi bets on EVs even as Apple pivots
Weeks after the tech giant abandons car project, Chinese tech company debuts model that out-accelerates Tesla and Porsche
Mar 29, 2024, Financial Times
A month after the maker of the iPhone abandoned its decade-long project to build an Apple Car, its rival as the world’s third-largest smartphone maker has begun an audacious attempt to become a top-five auto manufacturer, with the debut of its first electric vehicle. China’s Xiaomi heralded its greater ambition in EVs with a launch event in Beijing on Thursday night for its Speed Ultra 7 sports sedan, announcing a competitive starting price of Rmb215,900 ($29,867) and availability in its stores across the country from this week. That compares with the Rmb237,900 price tag of Tesla’s Model 3 standard version. “If I were Tim Cook, I would’ve never done that,” Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s billionaire founder and chief executive, said recently about Apple’s decision to scrap Project Titan. He has called Xiaomi’s car project his final entrepreneurial venture but its first model is being launched amid a brutal price-cutting war in China and an abundance of choice for consumers that could make headway difficult. While EVs now account for about one-third of new car sales in the world’s biggest car market, analysts and executives have predicted a period of consolidation to hit both legacy carmakers and scores of newer entrants to the market. There are also fears in the US and Europe that as domestic demand growth slows in China, a wave of Chinese EV exports will flood international markets, raising fears over unfair trade practices and national security. It has taken just three years for Xiaomi’s first car to come to fruition, emphasising the speed of development in China’s ultra-competitive and world-leading EV industry, and the eagerness of tech companies to gain market share.
