Best known for its smartphones and home appliances, Xiaomi entered China’s crowded EV market this year, part of its strategy to diversify its product portfolio, according to MSN. Speaking at an annual event in Beijing, Lei said Xiaomi began to consider making an EV after what he called "an accident," an announcement in the final days of the Trump administration that put the Chinese company on a US sanction list. "I received a phone call from a friend saying that we had been sanctioned.
It was like a bolt from the blue," said Lei, who added that Xiaomi convened an emergency board meeting that day, kicking off its scramble to develop an electric car. "If it weren't for the huge impact of the unexpected US sanctions, we would not have rashly entered the complex automotive industry," said Lei, who has developed a celebrity following in China for splashy, live-streamed product reveals. Friday's event, where Lei detailed Xiaomi's attempt to launch an EV that would lure buyers from Tesla and established luxury brands like BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, was streamed by more than 1.
5 million people on WeChat. Xiaomi challenged the 2021 sanctions in federal court and won a reversal of the action that would have restricted US investment in May that year. By that time, Lei said he had launched the development of what became the SU7, a sporty, Porsche look-alike EV that starts below $30,000.
Lei said Xiaomi had turned down an offer from venture capital to fund its early-stage EV operations th.