Tim Cook Missed Out On The Chance, But Xiaomi CEO Is Showing Off His New EV Factory Uniform As 'Apple Of China' Gets Set To Roll Out The SU7 Sedan

Xiaomi XIACF CEO Lei Jun on Tuesday donned the uniform of its newly unveiled EV factory as he gears up for the domestic launch of the smartphone maker’s first car, the SU7, also known as Speed Ultra.

What Happened: “I can’t wait to unveil what we’ve been working on!” Lei Jun wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. He also shared a picture of himself on the factory floor donning a jacket with the company name embossed on its sleeves.

The EV factory was officially unveiled earlier in the day. The CEO said the Xiaomi board held a meeting there, toured the factory, and test-drove the SU7 without providing further details.

Xiaomi, sometimes dubbed the Apple of China, is primarily known for its core smartphone business and its domestic appliances. The company unveiled its first EV in December. During the event, CEO Lei Jun compared the vehicle to the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model S, creating expectations for the vehicle to be a higher-end EV.

Official pricing will be announced in an upcoming launch event on March 28.

Xiaomi Financials: For 2023, Xiaomi recorded a total revenue of 271 billion yuan ($37.64 billion) with an adjusted net profit of 19.3 billion yuan ($2.68 billion), marking a year-on-year growth of 126.3%. This is despite 6.7 billion yuan in expenses related to its new initiatives, including the EV business.

Why It Matters: The Chinese smartphone maker is fast gearing up to deliver its electric sedan, unlike its American counterpart Apple.

In February, it was reported that Apple killed its project focused on electric cars after it spent hundreds of millions of dollars a year on research and development. Given the recent strategy adjustments to speed up time to market, some of the company's top executives were reportedly concerned about the car's profit margin potential.

Image Credits – Sudhanshu Singh/Benzinga

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Read More: Tesla FSD Should Be ‘Really Shining Bright’ By Late April Or Early May, Says CEO Elon Musk