The news continues, where has Xiaomi car progressed?
In recent days, Xiaomi car news has been constant. From Lei Jun's annual speech without mentioning a word, to the exposure of the Turpan test car, the senior management team appeared to publicize; Then to get the new energy vehicle production qualification and win the xiaomiev.com domain name; There is also the Xiaomi automobile factory that has recently opened worker recruitment. So, how far are Xiaomi cars from us?
There is no mention of the annual speech of "Che"
On August 14, Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Group, gave an annual speech, in this "2023 Lei Jundu Speech", Lei Jun talked about his college years and the past of becoming an excellent programmer with the theme of growth. As usual, at the annual speech, a number of new Xiaomi products were launched, including the new folding screen mobile phone MIX FOLD 3.
As a witness of the more than 30 years of history of China's IT industry, Lei Jun is still active in the entrepreneurial circle. Due to his unusual multiple identities, his speech attracts the attention of many insiders and outsiders every time. However, the most surprising thing about this speech is that the Xiaomi car, which was placed high hopes by Lei Jun and Xiaomi, did not have any information.
This is surprising, and perhaps the absence of information is the greatest information. Lei Jun may be holding back a big move, ready to surprise the audience.
Turpan mobile phone? No, dry the car!
On August 19, Lei Jun posted several photos of his new mobile phone MIX FOLD 3 on Weibo, from which several Xiaomi staff can be seen pulling a banner that reads "Fight for Xiaomi cars". At the same time, the IP address of the Weibo was displayed as Xinjiang. The next day, Lei Jun posted two Weibo again, "drying" Turpan watermelon and grapes is very cheap.
People in the automotive industry have guessed that Lei Jun should learn about the high-temperature test of Xiaomi cars in Turpan. Turpan, as the hottest place in China in summer, has concentrated a large number of testers from car companies. During the hot season, everyone will test the dynamic performance of the upcoming vehicles in the hot and dry state.
At this step, it can basically be seen that Xiaomi cars have been basically finalized and are already in the road test link. At the same time, some bloggers posted spy photos of Xiaomi cars on social platforms, and said that "on the way from Urumqi to Changji, I saw Xiaomi cars."
Interestingly, Hu Zhengnan, a co-investor of Shunwei Capital, also posted a Weibo, saying that he tested the vehicle and tested 8.8kwh of 100 kilometers of electricity. Hu Zhengnan, as the former president of Geely Automobile Research Institute, although he joined the ranking capital, but with the relationship between the ranking capital and Xiaomi, he shows that he is serving Xiaomi Automobile. This Weibo also proves once again that Xiaomi cars have some new information, and the power consumption control level of the new car is not bad.
Xiaomi cars have a "birth certificate"?
On August 23, some media exposed that Xiaomi has obtained the production qualification of new energy vehicles. If the news is true, with the tightening of dual qualification issuance, Xiaomi Auto is the only car company to obtain qualifications since 2020.
Automobile production qualification is one of the topics that Xiaomi has been most concerned about both outside and inside since it announced the construction of the car. Previously, the industry generally believed that Xiaomi would acquire Beijing Borgward's car-making qualification, but in June this year, Beijing Borgward applied for cancellation of the automobile production qualification on its own, which means that Xiaomi cannot directly obtain cooperation in qualification from Borgward, and the topic of Xiaomi's car-making qualification acquisition channel has once again sparked discussion.
However, Xiaomi Auto did not respond to this matter. Alternatively, this could also explain why Lei Jun did not mention "Xiaomi Auto" in his annual speech. The new forces that build cars without obtaining the qualifications but publicize them in advance are tantamount to "opening champagne before the finish line". For example, the self-traveler founded by Li Yinan, the founder of Xiaoniu Electric Vehicle, has released the car and received a deposit, but chose to return the money because it did not have production qualifications.
Before the production qualification is completely settled, Xiaomi Auto's low-key is understandable.
On the same day, there was also news that Xiaomi Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. registered the "xiaomiev.com" website domain name. It seems that the arrival of Xiaomi cars is accelerating.
Coming to the production rhythm
On August 24, another piece of news about Xiaomi cars came out. The Xiaomi automobile factory has opened the recruitment of workers, and opened a number of positions such as painting operators and battery workshop operators. The first phase of the Xiaomi Yizhuang factory, which has been basically completed, will also officially start. This also confirms that the news that Xiaomi cars have obtained production qualifications is true.
Although Xiaomi Auto is moving step by step towards the original planned launch rhythm in the first half of 2024, Xiaomi Auto still chooses a very non-"Xiaomi" low-key way. At the upcoming Chengdu Auto Show, Xiaomi Auto did not prepare a booth and had no publicity plans. Perhaps, just like the previous Shanghai Auto Show, Mr. Lei will inadvertently "appear" at various booths to tell everyone that there is also Xiaomi Auto.
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Hu Xiong