The electronics manufacturer Xiaomi recently took off on the smartphone market. Now the Chinese are targeting the auto business.
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi wants to build its own electric car. According to its own information, the electronics group will invest the equivalent of around 8,5 billion euros in the project over the next ten years. The company does not provide any details about the planned vehicle, but emphasizes that it is supposed to be a "smart" model. One of the special features is a high degree of networking - not only with the products from Xiaomi, which cover all areas of entertainment and communication electronics.
Xiaomi is not the first non-industry group to push into the auto business. For example, Sony has already presented a concept vehicle, and Apple supplier Foxconn also plans to manufacture cars to order in future. On the one hand, electrification makes vehicle construction more accessible to new providers, because the engine construction know-how of the classic car groups that has accumulated over decades is losing its value. On the other hand, increasing digitization and the development of autonomous vehicles are opening up new, often software-based business models.