It’s no secret that Xiaomi is working on an electric car. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun reportedly said as much himself at a conference in April of this year. And while he’s since said the company doesn’t have plans to produce an electric car, rumors persist.
For example, Sina Tech reports that Xiaomi VP Li Wanqiang is in Silicon Valley right now, working on a new Xiaomi product that might very well be its electric car. Silicon Valley is the headquarters of many companies, but one of them is the electric car company Tesla. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has gushed publicly about how much he likes the cars, and there are suspicions that the two companies could even be working together in some capacity.
Until recently, though, whatever aspirations Xiaomi had about producing an electric car didn’t matter much because government regulations placed severe limits on the kinds of companies allowed to produce them in China. Xiaomi would not have been permitted to make a car on its own, and would instead have been forced to acquire an auto company just to get through the red tape.
But in late November, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) posted a draft of new regulations online that would allow non-auto companies entry into the electric car market. The regulations are currently in the public “seeking comment” phase, after which they will be revised and then ultimately either passed or scrapped by the government body. But if the new regulations do go through, Xiaomi and other internet companies will have a much easier time getting into electric cars.
Given that nothing has publicly been announced and the regulations won’t be made official for some time (if they do go through at all), you probably shouldn’t expect to be driving a Xiaomi electric car anytime soon. But the window is looking more open than it has been in years, and all signs suggest it’s something that Xiaomi is thinking about seriously.
See: Tesla to build 400 charging points in 120 cities across China thanks to major new partnership
Photo by Windell Oskay
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
