The Chinese government on July 12 announced it had given Xiaomi a production license to independently assemble electric vehicles, meaning the smartphone maker has cleared the official hurdles required to scale up its production independently, without needing its traditional car manufacturer ally BAIC.
Why it matters: The green light from Chinese regulators will pave the way for a smooth production ramp-up for Xiaomi, which has raised its delivery target to 120,000 from 72,000 units for this year and hopes to reach a wider customer group with upcoming models.
Details: Xiaomi is now on the list of “all-electric passenger car manufacturers,” according to the registration filings released for public review by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on July 12 (our translation).
- Xiaomi also updated the filing for registration of its first consumer car, the SU7, to the country’s top industry regulator, with the model carrying the “Xiaomi” name on its rear, rather than “Beijing Xiaomi” as previously shown, the photos revealed by MIIT show.
- The popular sedan has always been manufactured at Xiaomi’s factory in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, but its production application had earlier been filed in the name of a subsidiary of state-owned automaker BAIC, TechNode reported.
- The company had been waiting for final approval from MIIT after getting the nod from China’s state planner to manufacture EVs, Reuters first reported last August, while reportedly looking for a partner to produce its second model. Its Beijing plant can turn out 150,000 cars a year.
Context: Xiaomi reached the 10,000-unit milestone in June, its third delivery month, bringing the year-to-date delivery volume of its answer to Tesla’s Model 3 to nearly 26,000 units.
- President Lu Weibing told investors in May that the company is aiming to deliver 120,000 cars this year. This is far higher than the firm’s original target of 72,000 units revealed by chief executive Lei Jun at Xiaomi’s annual investor day in April, CNBC reported.
- Priced from RMB 215,900 ($29,881) with styling similar to the Porsche Taycan, the all-electric Xiaomi SU7 has become a success in China, securing 88,898 pre-orders in the 24 hours following its launch on March 28. The company has since been under pressure to ensure timely delivery.
- The tech giant is also rushing to introduce its second car, an all-electric sports utility vehicle, in the first half of next year, while a third model is said (in Chinese) to be an extended-range hybrid (EREV) targeting Chinese families, and is scheduled for release in 2026.
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