Three people with direct knowledge of the matter said that China’s Xiaomi plans to use the Great Wall Motor Co., Ltd. factory to produce electric vehicles. In this way, we will be in the presence of the last technology company to join the race of smart cars.
According to Reuters, Xiaomi cars will be produced in the city of Hong Kong. The adventure of the brand began in 1984 and now it has joined the electric car race at the hands of the Chinese giant.
After the international news agency issued an on the plan, the tech company’s share price rose more than 9% in Friday afternoon trading. Great Wall Hong Kong shares are up more than 15% and Shanghai shares are up their daily high of 10%.
Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, under reservation of identity, that Xiaomi, one of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturers, is negotiating with a Great Wall factory to produce electric cars under its own brand. Xiaomi direct its electric vehicles to the mass market based on the broad positioning of its electronic products.
Another close source said Great Wall has not previously provided outsourced manufacturing services to other companies. However, this eventual alliance contemplates the development of an engineering consulting firm to accelerate the progress of the project.
According to what was mentioned in the report, both companies plan to announce this partnership at the beginning of next week, which will bring its first copies of vehicles during 2023.
Future leadership in this field is under permanent dispute. Large companies in the technological and automotive world have already begun their deployment, now these two companies of the Asian giant are joining the road.
Alliances of this type generally arise to combine the strengths of two areas that, up to now, have developed along independent paths that have only recently begun to intersect in a more visible way. Under a similar formula, Apple’s intention to work with Hyundai on a joint electric vehicle project was discussed at the time, an initiative that did not end in success.
In response to Reuters inquiries, both Xiaomi and Great Wall declined to comment on additional information. Once the announcement of this alliance is made public, we will surely know more information about the movement of these two companies around this project.
