Lei Jun enters the car manufacturing industry, becoming even more passive.

A 100,000-word article: Xiaomi's "B Plan" for car manufacturing

Author: Chai Xuchen

Editor: Zhang Xiaoling

While its first new car is still partially concealed, Xiaomi is already preparing to explore its "B Plan" for car manufacturing.

Recently, Xiaomi has posted several job positions related to the automotive industry on its official recruitment page, including positions such as range extender system design and development engineer, fuel system engineer, and exhaust system engineer.

The requirements for these positions are not low. For example, the range extender system design and development engineer must have at least 3 years of experience in design and development or supplier product management, while the powertrain fuel system engineer must have 5 years or more of experience with mainstream OEMs or suppliers, including experience with complete mass production projects.

Many market observers were surprised that even Xiaomi, a tech giant, is now venturing into range extender vehicles.

Although Lei Jun has emphasized that they will not publicly disclose the progress of their car manufacturing efforts, Xiaomi, as the only tech giant that has announced its foray into the automotive industry but has yet to produce a car, has attracted a lot of attention and speculation. Previously, whether it was the exposure of a 101 kWh battery or design drawings, the positioning of Xiaomi's first car was always focused on pure electric vehicles. However, this public recruitment indicates that Xiaomi is hinting at entering the range extender market.

During the second-quarter earnings report meeting, Xiaomi's President Lu Weibing stated that Xiaomi's car manufacturing progress is going very smoothly, and they are maintaining their goal of starting mass production in the first half of 2024. Some analysts believe that if Xiaomi decides to pursue the range extender route, they may release a range extender version after their first car or develop both pure electric and range extender models in their second-generation products.

In fact, the decision to choose the range extender route at this point may reflect Lei Jun's pragmatism and anxiety.

Lei Jun has high ambitions for car manufacturing and claims to have put all his reputation and effort into it. At the beginning of the year, during Xiaomi's Investor Day, he stated that he has devoted half of his time to this new car project. He is also not hesitant to invest money. Last year, Xiaomi's investment in new businesses such as automobiles exceeded 3 billion yuan, and Lei Jun even declared that he would invest billions of US dollars over the next ten years.

His "small goal" is to become one of the top five global brands, with an annual delivery volume exceeding 10 million vehicles. According to a supplier, after Xiaomi releases its first car in 2024, they plan to launch a new car every year for the next three years, with a cumulative sales target of 900,000 vehicles.

It seems that Xiaomi is also preparing accordingly.

In June, Xiaomi completed the construction of a phase one factory in Beijing's Yizhuang, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles. The phase two project also has a capacity of 150,000 vehicles, and it is expected that the first car will be produced and mass-produced in 2024. The total annual production capacity will be 300,000 vehicles.

By August, there were reports that Xiaomi had obtained approval from the National Development and Reform Commission and obtained the qualification to produce electric vehicles. They also simultaneously started recruiting workers, opening positions such as paint shop operators and battery workshop operators.

However, achieving annual sales of over 300,000 vehicles is no small feat for a newcomer to the automotive industry. The last person to make such a bold claim, Yu Chengdong, has been in the industry for two years and has yet to achieve this goal. Therefore, it may be difficult for Lei Jun to fulfill his wish of relying solely on pure electric vehicles in the early stages. However, by adding the popular range extender technology, he may be able to sell more cars. However, Professor Zhang Xiang from Huanghe University of Science and Technology also pointed out that range extender products classified as new energy vehicles will no longer be eligible for the exemption of purchase tax by the end of 2027. This means that Xiaomi's window of opportunity for range extender layout is not very long.

It is worth noting that besides Tesla, domestic brands such as Xiaopeng and NIO, which are firmly committed to the pure electric route, are still in the stage of selling around 100,000 vehicles per year. On the other hand, with the leadership of BYD and Ideal, the popularity of range extender market has rapidly increased, and followers such as Zero Run, Lantu, Nezha, and Deep Blue have all tasted success, achieving breakthroughs in sales volume this year.

According to data from the Gaishi Automotive Research Institute, from January to August this year, China's sales of range-extended passenger vehicles reached 314,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 159.08%, far higher than the growth rate of pure electric vehicles. In the eyes of industry experts, range extender technology will continue to support a large part of the new energy market for a considerable period of time.

In April of this year, at the China Electric Vehicle Summit, Academician Ouyang Minggao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences stated that China's comprehensive electrification transformation still needs about 10 years. He predicted that in the next 5-10 years, the proportion of plug-in hybrid vehicles in the entire new energy vehicle market is expected to increase from 22% last year to 30%-40%.

Obviously, the range extender market, which has a considerable user base, can allow Xiaomi, which lacks car manufacturing technology and experience, to more efficiently layout its product matrix. On the other hand, Xiaomi, which has always been known for its "price butcher" strategy, is also expected to lock in its winning position by leveraging the cost reduction brought by range extender technology.

Although Lei Jun has revealed that Xiaomi's first car will be positioned in the mid-to-high-end market and will incorporate cutting-edge technology at the time of delivery, with prices ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 yuan, the current price war in the car market may also affect Xiaomi.

Lei Jun, who entered the car manufacturing industry as a newcomer, may have chosen to be pragmatic and prioritize sales and survival after understanding the market.

However, the B-side of actively seeking survival is also because the space left for Xiaomi in the market has become smaller and smaller, and Lei Jun's originally confident ace has been played by other friendly competitors.

As a cross-border car company with a background in consumer electronics, Xiaomi's technological accumulation in intelligent technology and ecosystem will undoubtedly be the key to its differentiation and competition with its peers.

Originally, Lei Jun intended to break through the industry with self-developed autonomous driving technology and announced plans to enter the first camp of the autonomous driving industry by 2024. However, his plans have been preempted by competitors such as Huawei and Xiaopeng, followed closely by Tesla's upcoming FSD in China.

At the same time, car companies are also paying more attention to building ecosystem "barriers". Geely, which has formed a partnership with Meizu, NIO, which has ventured into the smartphone market, SAIC's Zhiji, which has partnered with Alibaba, and FF's Bach cockpit digital ecosystem, which now supports OPPO and VIVO.

Even Baidu, which entered the market at the same time as Xiaomi's car venture, has partnered with Geely to launch its first car, priced at the most competitive level of 250,000 yuan.

It can be said that the advantages of Xiaomi's car venture have gradually been diluted and weakened by the fiercely competitive car market, and Lei Jun has become more passive, choosing range extender technology as a compromise with reality. Lei Jun, who has achieved great success in the consumer electronics and mobile phone business, is undoubtedly a legendary figure in the domestic technology industry. Therefore, Xiaomi's entry into the automotive industry has also been met with high expectations and attention. Will Lei Jun continue his second entrepreneurial success in the automotive business, or will it be just a flash in the pan? Consumers and industry peers are eagerly awaiting the answer.

However, the automotive industry has invisible barriers that are higher than most people imagine. Many cross-industry giants with resources, such as Xu Jiayin, Yao Zhenhua, and Jia Yueting, have all encountered setbacks, and only a few have succeeded in car manufacturing.

Time is of the essence. In six months, Lei Jun and his Xiaomi car will face the market's scrutiny.