Xiaomi under sanctions, Lei Jun makes cars, a new journey?
Xiaomi has been under sanctions from the U.S. government for the past few years. As one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in China, Xiaomi has undoubtedly been hit hard. In this case, Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, made a bold decision - to build a car.
The decision shocked the entire tech community. Building a car is not a trivial matter, and it requires huge capital investment and long-term technology accumulation. Lei Jun seems to have made up his mind to try his skills on this road full of unknowns.
Why did Lei Jun make such a seemingly crazy decision? The reason is actually quite simple. Due to the sanctions imposed by the U.S. government, Xiaomi's mobile phone business has been severely affected. In this case, Xiaomi must look for new business growth points to ensure the long-term development of the company. And smart electric vehicles are a promising emerging market.
Lei Jun was not very keen on building cars at first. He once said that Xiaomi should focus on the mobile phone business and should not be distracted. As the sanctions intensified, Lei Jun had to change his mind. He realized that if Xiaomi could not transform in time, it could be completely eliminated.
At the beginning of 2023, Lei Jun held an emergency meeting to discuss the company's future development direction with Xiaomi's top management. At this meeting, Lei Jun asked a shocking question: "If you can't build a mobile phone, what can Xiaomi make?" After intense discussions, the choice of building a car was finally decided.
Once he decided to build a car, Lei Jun was like a beast and went all out. He personally led Xiaomi's car-building project and spared no effort to invest money and manpower. Xiaomi has invested heavily in R&D in the fields of electric drive systems, battery systems, large die-casting technology, intelligent driving, and intelligent cockpits.
Lei Jun also went out in person to hype up Xiaomi's concept and products on social media. He even personally participated in the Beijing Auto Show to show the world the results of Xiaomi's car manufacturing. Lei Jun is the biggest promoter and spokesperson of Xiaomi's car-making project.
Under the leadership of Lei Jun, Xiaomi's car-making project has made remarkable progress. At the beginning of 2024, Xiaomi's first smart electric car SU7 was officially launched, which is divided into two versions: standard version and Max version. The expected annual deliveries of the SU7 are 100,000 units, which is already a significant number.
Industry insiders have different views on the prospect of Xiaomi's car. Some people believe that Xiaomi, with its technology accumulation and brand influence in the field of smartphones, is fully capable of taking a share of the smart electric vehicle market. Smart cars and smartphones have many similarities, such as human-computer interaction, software systems, etc.
There are also people who are skeptical that Xiaomi makes a car. They believe that there is an essential difference between the automobile manufacturing industry and the mobile phone manufacturing industry, and Xiaomi lacks sufficient experience and resources in this field. Moreover, the threshold of the automotive industry is extremely high, which not only requires huge capital investment, but also requires a large number of professionals and a complete supply chain system.
Xiaomi's car building is a terrific attempt. As a technology company, Xiaomi dares to challenge tradition and innovate, and this spirit is worthy of recognition. If Xiaomi can succeed in the field of car manufacturing, it will be a milestone event, which will not only bring new growth momentum to Xiaomi, but also inject new vitality into the entire automotive industry.
How can Xiaomi go further on the road? Xiaomi must continue to increase R&D investment and continue to break through the bottleneck of core technologies. The core technologies of smart electric vehicles include electric drive system, battery system, large die-casting technology, intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit, etc., which are all difficulties that Xiaomi must overcome.
Xiaomi needs to establish a sound supply chain system. The supply chain in the automotive manufacturing industry is extremely complex, involving thousands of components and tens of thousands of suppliers. If there is a problem in the supply chain, it will seriously affect the production and quality of the whole vehicle. Xiaomi must establish good cooperative relations with major suppliers to ensure the stability and efficiency of the supply chain.
Xiaomi needs to strengthen its brand marketing. Although Xiaomi is already a well-known brand in the field of mobile phones, it is still a newcomer in the automotive sector. Xiaomi needs to use various marketing methods to improve brand awareness and reputation and attract more consumers.
Xiaomi needs to build a team of excellent talents. The automobile manufacturing industry has extremely high requirements for talents, not only engineers and technicians, but also talents in marketing, management and other aspects. Xiaomi must attract outstanding talents through various channels and provide strong talent support for the car manufacturing industry.