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Both Xiaomi and its founder, Lei Jun, are big fans of Apple. The Chinese smartphone maker embraces Apple-like designs in its products and advertising, leading some to dub<\/a> the company \u201cthe Apple of China.\u201d And Lei cites Steve Jobs<\/a> as an inspiration, saying that the 1984 book Fire in the Valley<\/em> put him on the path to launching his own company.<\/p>\n And so it wasn\u2019t a big surprise when, in March 2021, Xiaomi announced<\/a> it was entering the EV space, following Apple\u2019s 2014 decision to explore building a car. At the time, Xiaomi promised to spend $10 billion over 10 years to eventually offer \u201cquality smart electric vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n But now Apple\u2019s car plans are reportedly<\/a> dead, with the U.S. tech company shifting personnel to AI projects instead.<\/p>\n The man behind the \u201cApple of China\u201d said he was \u201cshocked<\/a>\u201d by Apple\u2019s decision, in a Wednesday post on Chinese social media platform Weibo<\/a>. He continued that Xiaomi made a \u201cstrategic choice\u201d to invest in EVs, and that the company remains committed to the project, despite the difficulty.<\/p>\n In December, Lei told state broadcaster CCTV<\/a> that Xiaomi devoted 3,400 engineers and 10 billion Chinese renminbi ($1.4 billion) towards the company\u2019s first prototype vehicle. He noted that the overall investment was 10 times higher than what automakers generally devote to new models.<\/p>\n Xiaomi can break into the car market because EVs combine elements of both traditional automobiles and consumer electronics, Lei said at the time.<\/p>\n The smartphone maker unveiled<\/a> its first EV, the SU7 electric sedan, in late December. The car made its first public appearance<\/a> at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.<\/p>\n Domestic deliveries could start as soon as the second quarter of the year, Xiaomi group president Weibing Lu told CNBC<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>The company hasn\u2019t revealed a price tag yet, but Lu said a formal release would come \u201cvery soon.\u201d The company is targeting the premium market, which Lu described as a good starting point due to Xiaomi\u2019s experience selling smartphones to \u201c20 million premium users.\u201d<\/p>\n Chinese consumers adopted EVs at a rapid pace in recent years, helping companies like BYD<\/a> and Li Auto<\/a> generate record-high sales. But Xiaomi will be trying to enter the world\u2019s largest EV market right as the pace of growth starts to slow down<\/a>, and as other EV makers get bogged down in fierce price wars to capture more market share. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n