If Huawei and Xiaomi can pull it off, Apple will surely feel emboldened to take a crack at making its own electric car. The biggest smartphone makers have joined BYD and Tesla in the increasingly crowded Chinese electric vehicle market. Their success or failure could serve as a guide for Apple someday entering the global race.
In the first 50 days after its September launch, Xiaomi sold over 40,000 EVs, with the subsequent release of the Avatr 12 luxury coupé and Luxeed S7 sedan adding to momentum. That’s a solid start, but still trails the more than 300,000 EVs BYD sold in October, 90% within China, which puts the local leader neck-and-neck with Tesla. Xiaomi has developed an operating system for cars and said this week it expects to make its EV debut in the first half of next year after recently getting preliminary roadworthiness approval from Chinese authorities. Instead of taking lessons from car makers, Apple is more likely to learn from its Chinese smartphone rivals. These two handset brands are vastly different to their incumbent EV rivals