Xiaomi further concretises EV timeline, to mass produce first model by 2024

Up till now, you've probably only seen the Xiaomi badge on competitively-priced and specced smartphones, smart TVs and watches and... uh, vacuum cleaners and hair dryers. 

Starting from 2024, however, you could be seeing it on the bonnet of a new EV too. 

As per reporting by CNBC, Xiaomi plans to start mass production of its first electric car in the first half of 2024. The news was confirmed both through Reuters by CEO Lei Jun, as well as a post he made on Chinese social media site, Weibo.

The Chinese tech giant had unveiled plans in March this year for its Tesla-competitor, which it later said would come either in the form of either an SUV or a sedan, priced between $15,000 and $45,000. In August, it completed registration for its business unit responsible for production of the EVs. Xiaomi has also pledged to invest over $10 billion into the development and production of its EVs.

There is no word yet on which markets Xiaomi is aiming to target with its first model, although history has shown that it will do absolutely fine even if it only stays within China. Unfortunately, Singapore will probably have to wait: To date, it has only gotten EVs from one Chinese carmaker so far (or two, some may argue), so it's unlikely that we'll be driving the first batch of Xiaomi EVs to roll off the assembly line.