The Xiaomi car runs, the Chinese Steve Jobs beats the masters of Apple

Beijing — Already about ten years ago the label of “Steve Jobs cinese”. For the way he dressed – which was based on the minimal look of the founder of Apple – and because he imitated his marketing and communication tactics, giving an aura of exclusivity to his products, gaining an increasingly larger share of followers. Only what time at She Jun that label is now too narrow. The man who founded it in 2010 Xiaomitoday one of the most popular smartphone brands in the world, is surpassing the masters of Silicon Valley: Apple said goodbye to its ten-year project to build an electric car in February, while you made your creation debut in the new generation vehicle market.

And what a debut: in the first 24 hours after the launch of the SU7 (price 215,900 yuan, 28 thousand euros, cheaper than the Tesla Model 3) – which took place last March 28 – the Beijing company received orders for almost 90 thousand cars. «It was a difficult undertaking, so difficult that even a giant like Apple gave up», he gloated from the stage, wearing aqua green jacket and black shirt, during the presentation of this «last great entrepreneurial venture».

To this 54 year old who in the space of fourteen years has managed to transform Xiaomi into the third largest phone manufacturer in the world – a brand that is omnipresent in China today, from suitcases to washing machines – the idea of ​​launching into the hyper-competitive and now crowded Chinese electric car market came three years ago. In 2021 you announced a plan for the mass production of vehicles thanks to an investment of 10 billion dollars over the next decade. Setting himself the goal of making his company one of the top five car manufacturers in the world in the next 15-20 years.

Born in Xiantao, a small city in the province of Hubei – better known for its fame of breeding Olympic gymnasts than tech billionaires – you graduated in Computer Science from Wuhan University: a university to which you made a substantial donation last year (1 .3 billion yuan, over 160 million euros). Before Xiaomi he was a key investor in the early Chinese Internet scene, co-founding startups like Joyo.cn, which was later sold to Amazon in 2004 for $75 million. Forbes estimates his net worth at $12.9 billion (153rd richest person in the world). A year ago the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Observatory included Xiaomi – and Lei Jun – in the list of “international war sponsors”, accusing the Beijing company of maintaining business in Russia despite its military actions against Kiev. “We do not support war, we respect all laws in every country we operate in,” the company responded.

Its SU7 has a range of up to 830 km on a single charge, a top speed of 265 km/h and an acceleration time from zero to 100 km/h of 2.78 seconds. In your intentions will have to compete with Tesla and Porsche. The five-seater boasts an operating system that also works with its smartphones and appliances allowing users to control all types of devices while in the car.

According to Chinese state media, its plant on the outskirts of Beijing is capable of producing 150,000 cars a year, with expansion plans that would double its capacity. However, navigating a very competitive market in full “price war” will not be an easy task for you and your Xiaomi. Huawei is also gaining ground with its Aito brand, whose M7 model is currently the fourth best-selling electric vehicle in China.

The ambitious bet on electric vehicles comes at a time of slowing purchasing growth in China. Industry bodies forecast sales growth of 25% for 2024, down from 36% last year and 96% in 2022.

For the moment Lei Jun doesn’t seem to think about it and is enjoying his latest success. And don’t call him the “Chinese Steve Jobs” anymore: the student now feels confident that he has surpassed the master.