Xiaomi confirms when it will start mass-producing electric vehicles

Last month, Xiaomi announced that it had completed the registration of its electric vehicle division. Supposedly, the company will invest up to US$10 billion in the division by the turn of the decade, roughly half what Tesla budgeted for one gigafactory in 2014. Currently, Xiaomi sells electric scooters, albeit not under its electric vehicle division.

As it stands, Xiaomi's EV division has 300 employees, although Reuters notes that it has 'ramped up hiring' recently. Additionally, Xiaomi acquired DeepMotion this month, an autonomous driving technology company that it acquired for US$77 million. Xiaomi has also invested in similar startups, Geometrical Pal and Zongmu, which both develop self-driving software.

According to Reuters, Xiaomi plans to start mass-producing its cars during 1H 2024. Reportedly, Xiaomi Chief Executive Lei Jun informed people of the date at an investor event, which a senior executive confirmed on his Weibo account. However, the company has not stated if it will produce its cars independently or with an existing manufacturer. The limited investment alone implies that Xiaomi will be taking cautious steps into the EV market this decade, so we doubt it will be a Tesla challenger anytime soon.

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