Forget the ‘Apple Car’ — check out the ‘Xiaomi Car’

You thought Apple’s official closure of its long-gestating car project was big news? Stay tuned to China for bigger mobility bombshells from that country’s burgeoning tech sector.

Case in point: Telecoms giant Xiaomi’s announcement in late March of its first car, a stunning all-electric sedan dubbed SU7 that will be priced in the Chinese domestic market from around $30,000, well below the starting price of a Tesla Model 3.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun is the latest Chinese tech founder to jump into the auto business, and in a big way, promising to invest $10 billion or more in a new family of electric vehicles that most likely will be heading for export markets, starting with Europe, in the not-too-distant future.

Why is this significant? 

“Xiaomi’s superpower is platform integration between their entire ecosystem of consumer, lifestyle and professional products,” writes Tu Le in the latest Sino Auto Insights newsletter. The Xiaomi Life ecosystem, observes Le, includes cellphones, laptops, tablets, TVs, air purifiers, hair dryers, wifi routers, micromobility products — and now electric vehicles. 

Sound familiar? Apple’s vision encompasses a similar digitally connected ecosystem, one that includes cellphones, laptops, tablets, watches, TV boxes, VR headsets — but no vehicles. For now, Apple-hungry consumers will have to settle for a much lower level of digital product and services integration through Car Play.

It’s early days, but Chinese consumers have responded enthusiastically to the Xiaomi SU7. The company said it received more than 50,000 firm orders within half an hour after the vehicle went on sale officially on March 28, according to CNEVPost.com.

Xiaomi’s Lei expects to unveiled several companion models, including an SUV, over the next year or two. If the styling, features, services and pricing of those future models match those of the SU7, the latest addition to the Xiaomi Life platform should be a winner.

In the meantime, Apple CEO Tim Cook must still be wondering what his company has to show for the estimated $10 billion it spent over the past 10 years on its stillborn Project Titan, aka the Apple Car.