Passing the Trial, Xiaomi Electric Car Launches in 2025

JAKARTA - The news about Xiaomi, the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, entering the electric car market started when the technology manufacturer from China announced it in September 2021.

Recently speaking at China's annual parliament meeting in Beijing, Xiaomi co-founder and CEO Lei Jun unveiled their plans to start production of its first electric car in the first half of 2024.

"Xiaomi's car production has progressed beyond expectations and the latest prototype has been completed and successfully completed winter testing," he was quoted as saying by Autocar, March 10.

Lei, who is a representative of China's National People's Congress, also confirmed that Xiaomi has invested more than 3 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in its electric car division, Xiaomi Automobile. Lei also hinted that Xiaomi is developing up to four models, including an SUV planned for launch in 2025.

However, the details and specifications of Xiaomi's first electric car, named Xiaomi MS11, have not been released, although there are leaks. The price is positioned for the upper middle class and is offered in two different versions, namely the standard model with a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery sourced from BYD, and a fancier model with a sodium-ion battery from CATL.

This Xiaomi car is also rumored to receive autonomous driving technology with lidar sensors from Shanghai-based Hesai Technology. So if this is true, the standard version of the Xiaomi MS11 specifications will become a new rival to the Tesla Model 3 with the BYD battery option and high level of autonomy.