Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is joining the electric vehicle gold rush, pledging to spend $10 billion on building a smart car over the next decade, reported the Financial Times.
The Beijing-based company said on Tuesday that it would put in RMB 10 billion ($1.5 billion) to its initial phase of investment, without specifying a time period.
Xiaomi did not disclose details such as whether the company would be launching a new brand or outsourcing manufacturing to a third party. According to a Reuters report last week, the group would work with private Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors to build the cars.
“Traditional automakers don’t have the same legacy advantages in making electric cars so it makes sense for highly efficient internet companies who can push software updates to come in and give it a try,” said Yale Zhang, founder of consultancy Automotive Foresight in Shanghai.
You must log in to post a comment.