Xiaomi Auto

In January 2021, Lei Jun received a call informing him that Xiaomi had been sanctioned by the United States. During an emergency meeting with the board of directors, someone raised the question of what would happen to Xiaomi's 30,000 or 40,000 employees if the company's mobile phone business could no longer continue. This led to Xiaomi's plan to diversify into car manufacturing.^[3] Lei Jun then received strong recommendations from his friends, such as Nio CEO William Li and XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng to enter the automotive industry. He acknowledged that the transition into smart electric vehicles was an inevitable trend.^[3]

On March 30, 2021, Xiaomi announced that would establish a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to the intelligent electric vehicle (EV) business. The initial investment for this venture was set at 10 billion Chinese yuan, with an expected total investment of 10 billion US dollars over the next 10 years. Lei Jun would also serve as the CEO of the intelligent electric vehicle business.^[4] On September 1, 2021, Xiaomi Automobile Co., Ltd. was officially established. Following the announcement, Xiaomi Auto attracted a wide range of talent, including Liu Anyu, an early Xiaomi entrepreneur, Li Tianyuan, a European-based Chinese car designer that built his career in BMW, and Hu Zhengnan, a partner at Shunwei Capital. Xiaomi Auto's recruitment efforts were met with an overwhelming response, receiving approximately 380,000 job applications.^[3]

On November 27, 2021, the Municipal Government of Beijing and Xiaomi officially signed a cooperation agreement, formally announcing Xiaomi Automobile's establishment in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone. Xiaomi Automobile plans to build a two-phase vehicle factory with a cumulative annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles. The production capacities for the first and second phases are 150,000 vehicles each. The first car is scheduled to roll off the production line in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone in 2024, marking the commencement of mass production.^[5]

On 28 December 2023, Xiaomi has unveiled its first electric car, the SU7.^[6] It was formally launched on 28 March 2024 in Beijing, with Xiaomi starting to take orders for the car on that day.^[7]

In July 2024, Xiaomi Auto gained an independent car-making qualification from the Chinese government after previously using BAIC Group's credentials.^[8] In the same month, Xiaomi Group spent 840 million to purchase Beijing Yizhuang New Town to build a car manufacturing plant.^[9] On 22 May 2025 during a 15th anniversary event, Xiaomi revealed details of its second vehicle, the YU7 SUV, which is expected to launch later that year in July. The reveal was originally scheduled to be at Auto Shanghai in late-April, but was delayed due controversies surrounding the fatal crash of a Xiaomi SU7 carrying three college students in assisted driving mode on 29 March.^[10]

• Xiaomi
• List of Xiaomi products
• Automobile manufacturers and brands of China
• List of automobile manufacturers of China
• Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance