Since Lei Jun promised to throw 10 billion yuan into the car track, Xiaomi's every move to build a car has attracted much attention.
A few days ago, it was reported that Lei Jun had successively withdrawn from the legal person, executive director or chairman of a number of "Xiaomi" companies. This is interpreted by the market as Lei Jun will focus more on the car manufacturing business. At the same time, Zhimi Technology, the ecological chain company of Xiaomi Holdings, has also joined the car-making army. Some voices believe that Xiaomi Group will build cars on two lines. What is the truth?
Lei Jun withdrew from a number of affiliated companies
Lei Jun is doing things again. On December 14, some media reported that Lei Jun was no longer the executive director of Nanjing Information Technology Co., Ltd. The company is one of the "Xiaomi" affiliates.
In fact, this is not the first time that Lei Jun has withdrawn from an affiliated company. Since the announcement of the car, Lei Jun has repeatedly withdrawn from the "millet" company.
On September 1, Xiaomi Automobile completed the industrial and commercial registration, and Lei Jun injected 10 billion yuan and personally served as the legal representative. Subsequently, he gradually withdrew from his position in his affiliated companies. On October 15, Lei Jun ceased to serve as a director of Shanghai Xiaomi Financial Information Service Co., Ltd., and on October 21, Lei Jun ceased to serve as an executive director of Chengdu Beida Asset Management Co., Ltd. On December 7, Lei Jun no longer served as the legal representative and general manager of Xiaomi Technology.
For the market concerned "Lei Jun quit a number of affiliated companies", Xiaomi responded that the behavior is a normal change. Since the beginning of this year, Lei Jun's energy has mainly focused on car-related matters, and executives have been able to share some of the relevant work and responsibilities, which is a gesture and an action.
Recently, the news about Xiaomi is more than this one. According to media reports, Xiaomi Ecological Chain Company Zhimi Technology has cut into the car-making track. One of the company's major personnel changes was the joining of the former head of GM's Pan-Asian Electric Vehicle Program, which was responsible for Zhimi's normal business. In addition, many baicc motor's electronic and electrical architecture personnel have also joined Zhimi.
In this regard, the market speculated that Xiaomi Group will adopt a two-line car-making strategy. Zhimi Technology's car manufacturing business remains independent, and the direction is also passenger cars. Xiaomi responded that Xiaomi Group does not have a so-called two-line car planning. Zhimi is an ecological chain enterprise, out of interest in researching electric vehicles, formed a small team, and is currently doing very early work.
How is Xiaomi's car manufacturing progressing?
Lei Jun no longer concurrently holds the relevant positions of affiliated companies, no doubt in order to build cars faster. So, since the completion of industrial and commercial registration on September 1, how has Xiaomi made cars progress?
Earlier, Lei Jun revealed at the investor meeting, "At present, the progress of Xiaomi's car manufacturing is faster than I expected." This means that in the face of fierce competition in the car-making track, Xiaomi's car-making has accelerated. For Lei Jun, letting go of things that can be ignored can undoubtedly save more time to focus on car building.
In this regard, Xiaomi Group also said that Lei Jun's energy is mainly focused on car-related matters, and executives can already share related work and responsibilities.
In fact, since September, the progress of Xiaomi's car manufacturing has indeed become faster and faster. On September 1, Xiaomi Auto officially completed its industrial and commercial registration. At that time, Xiaomi built a car-making team of nearly 300 people. The subsequent three quarterly reports show that the number of Xiaomi car-making teams has exceeded 500.
It is in this third quarterly report that Xiaomi expects that smart electric vehicles will be officially mass-produced in the first half of 2014. To achieve mass production, of course, there must be a car-making base. In November, Xiaomi officially announced that the automobile headquarters base was spent in the Beijing Economic Development Zone, and the vehicle factory with an annual output of 300,000 vehicles was built in two phases. This also dispels the speculation in the market that "Xiaomi chooses who to oem".
The car-making plan is advancing rapidly, and it is normal for Lei Jun to withdraw from the relevant positions of affiliated companies at this time. After all, on the car-making track, Xiaomi's opponents can be described as strong. In addition to traditional manufacturers such as BYD and Great Wall Motors, as well as the three new car-making forces of "Wei Xiaoli", Xiaomi will also face challenges from Internet technology companies such as Baidu, Huawei, and Apple.
At present, Baidu Auto may have landed earlier. It has been reported that the production model with the new digital cockpit is expected to go on sale in 2023. This will be the first mass-produced model in China to adopt the digital cockpit platform of the fourth-generation Snapdragon car. In the face of these strong opponents, Lei Jun may also be in a hurry.