Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi Corp (小米) unveiled its first four-wheeled electric vehicle (EV) yesterday, with company founder and chief executive officer Lei Jun (雷軍) saying it has ambitions to become a global automotive powerhouse, despite fierce competition at home.
Beijing-based Xiaomi, which is the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer, is also a leading provider of tablets, smartwatches, headphones and electric scooters.
The company in 2021 announced its intended foray into EVs, joining a trend that has seen several major Chinese tech companies pivot toward the highly competitive sector.
Photo: REUTERS/Florence Lo
Lei took to the stage in Beijing yesterday to unveil the SU7, a sedan that is scheduled to enter the market in 2025.
The model is integrated with Xiaomi software to enable functionality across the firm’s range of devices and would be produced by local manufacturer BAIC Group (北汽集團), the company said.
“The goal is to become one of the world’s top five automotive manufacturers through 15 to 20 years of hard work,” Lei said.
The SU7’s batteries are to be supplied by China’s largest electric automaker, BYD Co (比亞迪), as well as domestic battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (寧德時代).
Many top tech firms in China — which is the world’s largest automotive market — have invested recently in the country’s EV sector.
BYD was the undisputed leader of China’s EV market last month with more than 300,000 models sold, ahead of Tesla Inc’s more than 80,000, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data showed.
Founded in 2010, Xiaomi has achieved rapid growth through its strategy of marketing high-end devices at affordable prices, which were initially sold directly through online channels.
The firm was placed on a blacklist by the US in 2021 due to alleged links to the Chinese military.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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