Xiaomi confirms it’s making an EV — will setup a $10B entity to build it

Xiaomi confirmed today it’s building an electric vehicle and also setting up a separate entity to do so.

In an announcement today, the Chinese tech giant said that for the initial phase it’s investing 10 billion RMB ($1.5 billion). Additionally, Xiaomi plans to invest $10 billion over the coming 10 years.

Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, will also serve as the CEO of the new smart EV business.

Yes, we are going to build an electric vehicle. #XiaomiEV #XiaomielEctricVehicle

For more information, please don't miss out the launch event tonight.

— David Liu (@DavidBlueLS) March 30, 2021

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

Last week, Reuters reported that the company will use Great Wall Motor Co.’s factory for manufacturing and the first model is expected to arrive in 2023. Till now, Xiaomi hasn’t detailed its production and launch plans.

Xiaomi’s not the only company vying to enter the automotive market. We’re expecting Apple to launch a car sometime this decade and Huawei is also planning to produce an EV.

But there’s another side of the business too. Chinese device manufacturer LeEco had invested in Faraday Future to compete with Tesla, but the whole project went bust in 2017.

developing…