Xiaomi reportedly planning to unveil its first car prototype in August

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi’s is founder Lei Jun is expected to unveil the first EV prototype in August. As per report, HVST Automobile Design which is responsible for the Maven concept car from WM Motor will design the upcoming Xiaomi car. The Xiaomi Auto manufacturing plant and R&D center will be built in Yizhuang, and the first actual cars are expected to leave its production line in 2024.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun earlier announced during that Xiaomi will create a brand new subsidiary with an initial investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion). The company plans to invest $10 billion in total over the next 10 years in the electric car project.

“The decision was made after numerous rounds of deliberation among all our Partners, and this will be the final major entrepreneurial project of my life,” he said in a statement. “I am willing to put all my personal reputation on the line and fight for the future of our smart electric vehicle! I am determined to lead my team to fight for the success of the Xiaomi electric vehicle.”

It is not just Xiaomi, but other smartphone manufacturers like Apple and Huawei are also planning to throw their hats in the electric vehicles segment. Apple’s supplier Foxconn recently revealed three new electric cars recently. For the unversed, Apple is also working on a secret project called Project Titan of Apple that aims to roll out an electric vehicle. Huawei, on the other hand, has also announced its plans to enter this segment.

According to Transparency Market Research, the year 2018 marked the beginning of heavier investments in the self-driving car market, as Ford created a new AV division with plans to invest US$ 4 billion by 2023, and Uber ended its development of self-driving trucks to shift its focus on cars. The same year, the government of Japan announced plans to commence the testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads, with a vision to offer self-driving car services for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The adoption of self-driving cars is expected to grow at a stupendous ~ 89 percent CAGR through to 2030, owing to manifold advantages offered by these cars, such as elimination of driver efforts and increased passenger comfort and safety.

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