Zhimi enters the game Xiaomi car to copy the ecological chain?

For the matter of building cars, Xiaomi and its friends seem to prefer "seeking others rather than seeking themselves". After Xiaomi Automobile set up a team of more than 500 people and settled in Yizhuang, on December 13, it was reported that Zhimi Technology, the ecological chain company controlled by Xiaomi, also joined the car-making army and will form a car-making team, still choosing to "go it alone". Since the announcement of the next game, the Xiaomi ecological chain backed by it has become one of the core competitiveness of Xiaomi cars in the future. Industry insiders said that in the face of the increasingly competitive new energy vehicle market, Xiaomi Automobile should maximize its advantages, and Zhimi, which relies on Xiaomi's growth, is the best choice, and enterprises in the same ecological chain can better help the automobile sector grow in the Xiaomi ecological chain and further expand the coverage.

The holding company went down to build a car

At the same time that Xiaomi is promoting car manufacturing, another company on its ecological chain will enter the game of car manufacturing.

It is reported that Zhimi's car construction direction is passenger cars, and the first model will launch an SUV. At the same time, there are already automotive design companies and Zhimi to contact the vehicle design work.

According to Tianyan, the legal representative of Zhimi Technology is Liu De, co-founder of Xiaomi, accounting for 95% of the shares, and CEO Su Jun shares are 5%. In April 2015, Zhimi Technology completed a Series A financing, jointly invested by Shunwei Capital, GGV and Morningside, and in April 2016, after the completion of the Series B financing by GIC Singapore Government Investment Corporation, Zhimi Technology was valued at US$1 billion that year.

In addition to contacting the design company, the above news shows that Zhimi Technology is forming a car-making team to promote the landing of the project. It is reported that Ma Yongdong, former head of the electric vehicle project of the Pan-Asian Automotive Technology Center, has joined the company and is responsible for the vehicle business of Zhimi. In addition, the staff from BAIC Electronic and Electrical Architecture has also recently joined Zhimi.

For Zhimi, Zhimi's introduction of Ma Yongdong is not unrelated to its endorsement of the Pan Asian Automotive Technology Center. According to the data, the Pan Asia Automotive Technology Center was jointly invested and established by General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry (Group) Corporation. Since its establishment, Pan Asia Automotive Technical Center has completed the research and development of a number of projects, not only for SAIC-GM to develop a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine equipped with manual transmission, but also participated in the research and development of a series of major models, including saic-GM Buick LaCrosse's major modification development work and Cadillac SLS luxury car research and development. At the same time, Pan Asia Automotive Technology Center also participated in the development of SAIC-GM's pure electric platform, Ultium Aotene.

Industry insiders believe that Zhimi Technology relies on Xiaomi to grow and has no car-making experience, so the first step in entering the car-making game is to start from talents.

In response to the car-making plan, the Beijing Business Daily reporter contacted Zhimi Technology, but as of press time has not received a reply.

The ecological chain breaks the circle

The outside world speculates that as a member of the Xiaomi ecological chain, Zhimi Technology's entry into the car is related to Xiaomi's car.

In March this year, Xiaomi Group issued an announcement that the company intends to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, responsible for the intelligent electric vehicle business, the first phase of investment of 10 billion yuan, is expected to invest 10 billion US dollars in the next 10 years, Xiaomi Group Chairman Lei Jun concurrently serves as the CEO of the intelligent electric vehicle business; in September, Xiaomi Automobile Entity Company was formally established, headquartered in Beijing, and the factory also settled in Yizhuang.

At present, the Xiaomi Auto team has expanded rapidly, and has formed a research and development team of more than 500 people, and Xiaomi Auto plans to launch its first model in the first half of 2024. Although, xiaomi car manufacturing speed up, but at this time the new energy vehicle market competition has also entered a white-hot, car-making new forces three weilai, Xiaopeng, ideal product camp continues to expand, independent brands choose to launch a number of sub-brands to participate in the war, and joint ventures and luxury brand products have long been landed, the first product landing xiaomi car in 2024, in the future new energy vehicle market competition will face a vicious battle, how to break through has become a problem that millet needs to think about.

However, Xiaomi is confident in this. According to its plan, the first model launched in three years is planned to sell 100,000 units in the first year of sale. In fact, the confidence of Xiaomi in building cars comes from the ecological chain that Xiaomi has created. Xiaomi, which started with mobile phones, has built an ecological chain around the mobile phone business, and its peripheral products include headphones, speakers, mobile power supplies, etc.; home appliances include air purifiers, water purifiers and rice cookers. In addition, it also includes technological products such as drones and machines. With the entry of Xiaomi Automobile and Zhimi Technology, the car will also become an important part of the Xiaomi ecological chain.

"The ecological chain is the biggest advantage of Xiaomi Automobile and Zhimi Technology." Yan Jinghui, a member of the expert committee of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said that Xiaomi's layout idea is clear, and its product line length cannot establish an absolute advantage in every field, but it must meet consumer demand, so Xiaomi chooses to alliance with other enterprises. Nowadays, after Xiaomi made cars, its ecological chain enterprise Zhimi Technology also chose to follow up, and joined hands to expand the circle and organize a group to conquer the future car market.

Not only that, for Zhimi Technology, constantly enriching product categories has become its pursuit of operation mode. Su Jun said: "In the ecological chain, we count the product structure is better, and most other enterprises are a single category. In his view, the risk of a single category cannot provide a strong enough "protective fence" for startups. Relying on the Xiaomi ecological chain and Xiaomi's strong fan base and brand endorsement, what is missing for Zhimi Technology is only car-making experience.

Industry insiders said that if Zhimi enters the market to build cars, Xiaomi will provide certain support in technology, and at the same time, in terms of product layout, the two companies will also form product differentiation, covering more consumer groups to cope with market competition pressure.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Liu Yang liu xiaomeng