By Wu Siya

 

BEIJING, Apr. 25 (China Economic Net)- "We have received more than 70,000 orders for our EV, SU7 sedan, as of April 20, close to Xiaomi's original full-year target for deliveries this year," CEO Lei Jun told at the ongoing 2024 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, also referred to as Auto China 2024. "More precisely, 28 days after the launching, this specific number reached 75,723 units, of which 5,781 units have been delivered."

 

 

The company now aims to deliver 100,000 of its new EV this year, Lei announced. In 2021, Xiaomi announced that it would invest USD 10 billion over the next decade into a subsidiary focused on smart EVs.

 

As a global mobile phone behemoth, Xiaomi’s big auto ambitions come at a time of intense competition in the industry in China, the world’s largest EV market. There are currently more than 200 major manufacturers producing pure EVs and plug-in hybrids.

 

Xiaomi has invested heavily in its electric car venture as Lei has long-term ambitions to become one of the top five automakers in the world. However, for the next three years, the company plans to fully focus on the domestic market.

 

“In 2024, our intelligent driving team will expand from the current 1,000 people to 1,500 people, and further expand to 2,000 people in 2025, as well as the investment in the field of intelligent driving will be expand step by step." Lei added.

 

“In the long term, our EVs definitely have plans to expand overseas, which is undeniable. What could be revealed is that all new models will be launched in major overseas markets for Xiaomi mobile phones and other products,” a Xiaomi staff told the China Economic Net during an interview.

 

 

The combined share of EVs and hybrids in China’s auto sales is likely to reach 42% to 45% this year, up from 36% in 2023, according to Fitch Ratings. “Despite near-term challenges in some markets, based on today's policy settings, almost 1 in 3 cars on the roads in China by 2030 is set to be electric, and almost 1 in 5 in both United States and European Union,” according to the annual Global EV Outlook published by International Energy Agency (IEA).

 

In China, more than 60% of electric cars sold in 2023 were already less expensive to buy than their conventional equivalents. In the meantime, growing electric car exports from Chinese automakers has accounted for more than half of all electric car sales in 2023. 

 

By now, although the competition in the domestic EV market is becoming white-hot, “the so-called overcapacity of electric vehicles in China is a fiction. This is an emerging industry that is rising day by day, and the market demand for EVs is huge. By 2030, there will be 45 million electric vehicles on the road worldwide, and currently there are only 10 million, which is still far away,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó pointed out in an interview not long ago. In addition to Xiaomi, other technology behemoths such as Huawei are also planning EV layouts, hoping to occupy a place in the current and future global market. The horn for a real game may have just been sounded.