Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has denied rumors that it is planning a 58.5% stake in Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (Evergrande NEV). Xiaomi’s denial of the rumors was posted by a spokesperson of the company on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
“Xiaomi EV has never had any plans or moves to acquire or take a controlling stake in Evergrande NEV,” the Xiaomi spokesperson wrote.
Rumors about Xiaomi’s supposed interest in a stake in Evergrande NEV came amidst the company’s challenges in meeting the demand for the Xiaomi SU7, an all-electric sedan that was benchmarked against the well-loved Tesla Model 3. Since its launch, the SU7 has proven very popular thanks to its blend of features and aggressive price.
As noted in a CNEV Post report, the rumors suggested that Xiaomi was looking to acquire a 58.5% stake in Evergrande NEV so it could use the company’s facilities to address its capacity issues. Speculations even suggested that Xiaomi was planning on using Evergrande NEV’s Tianjin factory to expand its production capacity.
The Xiaomi SU7 has been received very well, but the tech giant is now facing the challenge of mass producing the all-electric sedan. The company has been ramping the SU7 fairly quickly, with 10,000 units of the all-electric sedan being produced in just 32 days at Xiaomi’s Beijing factory. Even such a ramp, however, does not seem to be enough to meet the demand for the vehicle.
In mid-May, reports emerged that wait times for the Xiaomi SU7 have started reaching up to 37 weeks for new customers. Amidst these challenges, Xiaomi has reportedly increased its supply chain orders by up to 80%, and the company is doubling the shifts in its Beijing plant this coming June. More recently, Xiaomi also announced that it is increasing its delivery target by 20% to 120,000 units this 2024.
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