Xiaomi to Work with BAIC Group to Manufacture Vehicles, Rumors Say

According to a report by Bloomberg on August 26, Xiaomi is negotiating with BAIC Group to jointly produce electric vehicles due to the delay in obtaining the license to produce cars on its own.

The report shows that, at present, the two sides are exploring ways of working together, including Xiaomi‘s direct purchase of Beijing Hyundai No.2 Plant, which has a license to produce cars. Although the No.2 Plant is old and needs major upgrades to produce EVs, BAIC BluePark New Energy, a subsidiary of BAIC Group, may work with Xiaomi and be responsible for producing Xiaomi‘s vehicles.

However, BAIC responded to Chinese media by saying that it has not received anything specific just yet. BAIC BluePark New Energy also stated that they “have not heard of this matter”.

Founded in 1958, BAIC Group owns well-known enterprises and R&D institutions such as BAIC Motor, Changhe Auto, BAIC New Energy, Beijing Hyundai and Beijing Benz.

Xiaomi officially announced on March 30 last year that it would put vehicle manufacturing on its agenda with an initial investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion). The company also said it expects to invest another $10 billion over the next 10 years.

At the end of November last year, Xiaomi said it would build an automobile business headquarters base and a sales and R&D headquarters in Beijing. Once set up, the company will build an automobile factory that can achieve an annual production of 300,000 vehicles. At that time, it was announced that the factory would be built in two phases, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles in Phase I and Phase II respectively, and that Xiaomi‘s first car is expected to roll off the assembly line and achieve mass production in 2024.

On August 17, Xiaomi Auto was revealed to have finalized two main battery suppliers, namely CATL and BYD’s FinDreams Battery, both of which are leading battery manufacturers in the new energy vehicle field.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Auto to Use Batteries from CATL and BYD

At Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun’s annual speech on August 11, Xiaomi released a live video of the road test of its automated driving technology which has entered the testing stage, with 140 test vehicles planned for the first phase.