Xiaomi Says It’s Not Working on a Car, Announcement Still Likely in April

29 March 2021, 06:57 UTC · By Bogdan Popa

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Like Apple, Xiaomi is believed to be working on its own electric vehicle, and a report last week indicated the Chinese tech firm has already found a carmaker to take care of the manufacturing process.

The company is likely to work with Great Wall Motors on the project, and if everything goes according to the plan, there’s a chance Xiaomi beats Apple to the launch of an electric car. In other words, Xiaomi could bring its EV to the market in 2023, whereas the Apple car is expected in 2024 or 2025 at the earliest.

But as far as Xiaomi is concerned, all the reports indicating that it’s working on an EVaren’t true, with Xu Jieyun, the deputy director of the General Office of Xiaomi Group, recently saying in a post on Weibo that it’s all “fake news and is complete nonsense.”

Interestingly enough, the post has already been removed shortly after it went live, and this makes many believe an announcement on a possible Xiaomi car is just around the corner.

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Indeed, people familiar with the matter have previously indicated that Xiaomi and Great Wall could reveal their joint project in early April, so in theory, we’re only a few days away from the moment the Chinese tech giant’s debut in the automotive market is officially confirmed.

In the meantime, it looks like Xiaomi is on a hiring spree for its car unit, especially as the project is gaining pace. Most likely, the company will focus specifically on the software side of the EV, while Great Wall would take care of the rest, including supplying the necessary parts and the assembly process.

For now, however, everything is still in the rumor stage, with Xiaomi itself apparently tried to fuel all the speculation with this now-removed Weibo comment. More information should surface rather sooner than later, especially since it’s now just a matter of days until we hear something official on the project.

Does not seem like either Apple or Xiaomi are willing to say I do.