Beijing: It said China’s Xiaomi will launch its highly anticipated YU7 electric running vehicle on Thursday, along with other products such as mobile chips developed by the company.
Analysts touted the Yu7 as a challenger to Tesla’s best-selling model Y in China, the world’s largest auto market, and Xiaomi failed to show off its cars on Autoshow in Shanghai last month, disappointing Xiaomi.
Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said on his Weibo account on Monday that the YU7 will be launched at events along with other products such as the Xring O1 mobile chip and the New Xiaomi 15S Pro Smartphone.
Xiaomi started making electric cars last year, and after the SU7 sedan sold smartphones, household appliances and smart gadgets for much of its 15-year history, it began making electric cars. Since December, the SU7 sedan has surpassed Tesla’s Model 3 every month.
Analysts say it still sells sales, but the company’s SU7 sedan’s orders fell after a fatal accident involving the SU7 in March.
In addition to EV competition, China’s smartphone market has intensified its competitors, including Huawei and Apple, using their own customized chips to create a tightly integrated ecosystem and enhance user experience.
Lei said in another Weibo post that Xiaomi has invested 13.5 billion yuan (US$1.87 billion) to self-develop its advanced mobile chip Xring O1 and plans to invest at least 50 billion yuan in at least 10 years.
A Xiaomi representative told Reuters that the 50 billion yuan investment timetable will start in 2025.
Xiaomi began designing chips in 2014 and launched its first 28nm Pengpai S1 in 2017, the processor debuted in the Xiaomi 5C smartphone.
Lei said the company later shifted its focus to less complex chips, including “various setbacks,” including battery management and image chips. But, in 2021, the year it decided to start building cars, it also decided to start developing mobile phone chips again.
“Xiaomi has always had a Chip dream because chips are the peak that must climb in order to become a great hard technology company,” he said. “We will definitely give our all.”
