Lei Jun: Most car manufacturers start with SUVs because it's easier, but Xiaomi decides to take a different path and start with pure electric sedans instead

On the evening of July 19th, during the 2024 annual speech event by Lei Jun, Chairman of Xiaomi, he revealed that at the beginning of the car manufacturing process, the internal idea was to first create a car that Xiaomi engineers wanted to buy. The engineers were divided equally between SUV and sedan preferences. Lei Jun stated that most car companies start with SUVs because it's easier, but Xiaomi decided to take a different approach by starting with pure electric sedans, making it easier to expand into other types later on. "China's automotive industry chain is already mature, assembling a car is very easy. We considered OEM and acquisitions, but soon decided to start from core technology and not take shortcuts. Because we suffered heavy losses before, Xiaomi phones started with a light model, the speed was fast, but the foundation was not solid. We are still making up for it now. For this new venture, we have decided not to take shortcuts."