Xiaomi bets on Beijing Automotive to push its EV dreams

Xiaomi is in talks with Beijing Automotive Group Co to establish a partnership to manufacture electric vehicles. Xiaomi which is a technology company is aiming to produce its own electric vehicles by 2024. According to a report by Bloomberg, since Xiaomi is facing a delay in procuring a license to build its own vehicles, the company is looking into creating a production tie-up. Sources said the technology company is also seeing to buying stakes in Beijing Hyundai No. 2 plant which has the license to produce cars.

Sources familiar with the matter shared the discussions are at a preliminary level, there’s no guarantee that the negotiation would lead to an agreement. However, the collaboration would allow Xiaomi co-founder Lei Jun will help the brand to go ahead with an investment of about $10 billion over a decade to start building Xiaomi-branded cars in 2024. The report also stated that China has been increasing scrutiny of EV firms after numerous companies came into the EV sector, lured by tax breaks and government subsidies. Beijing is currently encouraging mergers and acquisitions in order to better deploy resources within the industry.

Last year, it was also announced that Xiaomi will open a car manufacturing unit in Beijing with an annual output of 3,00,000 vehicles. It was stated that the factory will be constructed in two phases along with building the company's headquarters, sales and research offices.

A recent report stated that Xiaomi is facing difficulties to get regulatory approval for its electric vehicle project. China's National Development and Reform Commission has given the Chinese smartphone company the approval for the required licensing that it applied for. The company also launched an internally developed autonomous driving technology called Pilot Technology. The brand is trying to establish a research and development team to take its self-driving technology segment forward.