Xiaomi Auto: No Plan for Shanghai Factory
An insider at the automotive division of Beijing-based tech giant Xiaomi stated: “Xiaomi Auto has no plans to set up a factory in Shanghai now, and the screenshot circulating on the internet is not true,” according to a report by Chinese media outlet Yicai on Tuesday.
In early May, a notice seeking Xiaomi Auto suppliers was exposed online. According to the document, this initiative pertains to the whole vehicle welding line project of Xiaomi Auto, based in Shanghai. Some analysts believe that Xiaomi will build a second factory in Shanghai, in addition to its Beijing factory now under construction.
However, an insider told Yicai that Xiaomi‘s potential new factory in Shanghai was a mix-up, and that Xiaomi Auto only had entrusted a bidding company in Shanghai to bid for related projects.
On November 27, 2021, the Administrative Committee of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone announced it had reached a cooperation agreement with Xiaomi. Under the arrangement, Xiaomi Auto would be settled on the site.
With this project, Xiaomi aims to build a Xiaomi Auto HQ, Sales HQ and R&D HQ, as well as a complete vehicle factory with an annual output of 300,000 vehicles in two phases, of which the production capacity of Phase I and Phase II is 150,000 vehicles respectively. It is expected that the first vehicle will be delivered and mass produced in 2024.
SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Commences Factory Construction in Beijing
In addition to factory construction, Xiaomi Auto has been recruiting substantial talent from the automotive field in the past year, and it is actively investing in upstream and downstream companies in the industrial chain.
On the “Demo Day” of Xiaomi Production and Investment in mid-October of last year, among the 102 enterprises invested in by Xiaomi through its Xiaomi Industrial Investment Fund, more than 40 were related to automobiles. In the field of power batteries, Xiaomi has invested in five companies, including China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology (CALB), SVOLT, Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd., Ganfeng Lithium and Welion New Energy. In addition, Xiaomi has acquired DeepMotion, furthering its layout in the automated driving field.
