Xiaomi e-vehicles could be made in partnership with Chinese auto giant BAIC
Xiaomi has already announced plans to add electric cars to its impressive portfolio of gadgets sold under its name. The company had originally aimed to make these vehicles in its own right, and had applied to Chinese authorities to do so. Unfortunately, the OEM has faced unexpectedly tight regulatory hurdles in its path to doing so.
Therefore, it seems Xiaomi is still intent on delivering its inaugural car by 2024, and will even resort to having cars made by another manufacturer under its brand rather than make it themselves at this point. To that end, it is reportedly in talks with the Beijing Automotive Group Co (also known as BAIC).
Xiaomi's prospective e-vehicle ODM has apparently offered the mobile device company multiple options to complete its new project, one of which is the purchase of a stake in the "No.2" BAIC plant co-opened with Hyundai in 2008.
This measure will reportedly result in future cars with the Xiaomi name slapped on them, along with that of BluePark New Energy (a BAIC subsidiary). This might indeed realize the former's ambitions of getting its very own wheels on the road, albeit not in the way its CEO Lei Jun may have envisioned.