At night Beijing time on Tuesday 30 March, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun responded to the car manufacturing, and said he began to research EV manufacture 15 January this year.

In a statement last night, Mr. Lei said he previously visited Tesla CEO Elon Musk twice, and was very optimistic about the electric car industry. He also mentioned having invested in close to 10 electric vehicle manufacturers in the past.

Mr. Lei continued, “On 15 January this year, the board of directors recommended researching the prospects of electric vehicles.” At that time, the CEO thought that the battle of smartphones had not yet been over, worrying about whether making cars would be a distraction. From 15 January, Mr. Lei began serious research into EV manufacturing.