14 DAY TRIAL // We’ve known for a while that Xiaomi was planning to compete against Apple on several fronts, but now the company’s founder and CEO reiterates their ambitions in a public statement.
Lei Jun recently said on Weibo that Xiaomi’s goal is to become an Apple rival in the high-end sector, and in China, it wants to become the number one company in the next three years.
“[We aim to] fully benchmark against Apple in [terms of] product and experience, and become China’s biggest high-end brand in the next three years,” he said, according to a report.
Competing on multiple fronts
Xiaomi doesn’t want to be an Apple rival only in the smartphone market.
The company is also investing heavily in an electric vehicle whose launch should take place at some point in 2024.
And the reason for this ambitious project is as simple as it could be: Apple too is developing a car, and Xiaomi wants to bring its vehicle to the market ahead of its rival.
The Cupertino-based iPhone maker, however, is silently working on its debut in the automotive sector, and people with knowledge of the plans said the launch could take place in 2025 at the earliest. In other words, Xiaomi has all the chances in the world to step into the car business before its rival, though nobody knows for sure if the company is aiming for an international launch or it just wants to focus on the Chinese market.
Apple, on the other hand, will probably begin by selling its car in the U.S. before bringing it to more countries across the globe.
As a result, Xiaomi will most likely have a similar target, especially as it has clearly stated that it wants to be a direct Apple competitor in the high-end market.