Lei Jun has once again taken over our social media feeds.
On the evening of July 19th, Lei Jun, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, held his fifth annual speech. The speech detailed the ins and outs of Xiaomi's venture into the automotive industry and the ups and downs of the past three years.
"This is not an impulsive decision, nor is it a stopgap measure, but rather the result of my deep and independent contemplation over the years. At that time, there were only seven words in my heart: 'Though thousands may fall, I will go forth.'" Lei Jun stated, "Even if I face the doubts and obstructions of thousands, I will go forward without hesitation and with courage."
Lei Jun mentioned that after a heated discussion, the company's board of directors decided to support the car-making project. However, due to the substantial investment required, Lei Jun himself had to take the lead.
In the days that followed, Lei Jun spent every day in a state of internal conflict. The high-end smartphone market was just beginning, the company was facing a transformation from a guerrilla force to a regular army, and on top of that, young executives who had been nurtured for years were leaving. All these issues were intertwined.
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So, every late night, Lei Jun would muster up the courage to make a big move, but when the sun rose the next morning, he was once again lost.Lei Jun repeatedly asked himself: "Starting a business is so tough, do I really want to start all over again? And the risks are so high, what if I lose? Is my life like this for the rest of my life, is it okay?"
But in the end, Lei Jun officially replied to the board: "If Xiaomi must do this, if everyone thinks I am suitable, for Xiaomi, I am willing to step forward."
Due to the mobile phone being sanctioned by the United States and making cars, Lei Jun: Li Bin and He Xiaopeng strongly support me.
Lei Jun said that on January 15, 2021, he received the news that the mobile phone was sanctioned. A director asked, if you can't make mobile phones, what will happen to your 30,000 or 40,000 people? Yes, if we can't make mobile phones, what will happen to our 30,000 or 40,000 people? A director suggested to me, should I seriously consider making cars?
"That afternoon, we seriously discussed making cars for the first time, almost all executives supported it, I think the risk of making cars is too great, we still need to do a serious research."
So they formed a research group of 6 people, in more than 70 days, they went to more than 10 cities without stopping, sometimes going in the morning and coming back at night, and they went to 85 places and interviewed more than 200 people, and they also held 4 executive meetings during this process.
Lei Jun specifically mentioned that in the process of research, two good friends unanimously persuaded me to make cars, that is Li Bin and He Xiaopeng. "To be honest, when I was writing this PPT, I was thinking, what benefits do they have for them to persuade me to make cars? Are they not afraid of having another friend in the automotive industry? I have been thinking, maybe they are just simply for my own good, for Xiaomi."
Finally, Lei Jun said: So as the research continues to deepen, I more and more feel that the trend of smart electric vehicles is unstoppable, so in the report to the board on March 24, I said this.Lei Jun stated that in order to manufacture cars, one must understand cars. Over a decade ago, due to a busy work schedule, his company provided a dedicated driver. When the decision to start car manufacturing was announced, he decided to drive himself. It took several days to gradually adapt, with the driver sitting in the passenger seat. Colleagues joked that the driver had quite the face, as the boss personally drove the car. In order to test drive a sufficient number of vehicles, he initially borrowed cars from colleagues, then went to 4S stores for test drives, and later went to the company's underground garage to find cars that had not been driven and borrowed them, chatting with the car owners about the pros and cons of the car, why they bought it, and what kind of car they would change to. Over three years, he test drove more than 170 vehicles and took notes amounting to over 200,000 words.
Lei Jun once rejected a financing offer of $10 billion for Xiaomi Automobile.
At the speech venue, Lei Jun responded to why Xiaomi Automobile did not seek independent financing and go public independently. He said that indeed, several venture capital firms had made offers for Xiaomi Automobile. At that time, because the market was particularly hot, the valuation was $10 billion. However, after careful consideration, Lei Jun refused. "Because the car manufacturing cycle is very long. If we take other people's money, it is almost impossible to maintain consistency in ideas for a long time. Moreover, a large number of talents and technologies for car manufacturing within Xiaomi can be directly used. I am very clear that I think car manufacturing is very difficult, and it is definitely not feasible to rely solely on me."
Lei Jun said, "I need everyone in the Xiaomi Group to support me wholeheartedly. I hope everyone can go all out and make cars together, and we will have a chance of winning. Therefore, in the end, we decided that Xiaomi would fully fund it ourselves, as long as we can make a good car, we will spare no effort."
Lei Jun also reported on the sales progress of Xiaomi Automobile in his annual speech.
Lei Jun said that it is expected to complete the annual delivery target of 100,000 vehicles ahead of schedule in November. At the same time, Lei Jun also said that Xiaomi Automobile's sales network added four cities in July, including Jinan, Guiyang, Changchun, and Changzhou, with 17 new stores. As of July, Xiaomi Automobile's sales and service network has covered 31 cities nationwide, including 30 delivery centers, 93 sales stores, and 57 service stores. By December of this year, Xiaomi Automobile's sales and service network will cover 59 cities, with the number of delivery centers increasing to 53, sales stores reaching 220, and service stores reaching 135.
He also said that Xiaomi Automobile has set a goal to become the fastest four-door electric car on the Nordschleife circuit of the Nurburgring within ten years.
Drift ShowDuring the speech, Lei Jun also publicly played a drifting video he filmed. Lei Jun revealed that ever since he boasted about his drifting skills during a live broadcast, netizens have been constantly urging him to demonstrate this skill.
Although he believes his drifting skills are average, in order to respond to the enthusiasm of his fans, Lei Jun still mustered up the courage to film this video. He modestly stated that the filming effect of the video may not be perfect, and he hopes everyone can watch with tolerance.
Lei Jun also humorously reminded the audience that there is no need to analyze frame by frame, and to enjoy it casually, and self-deprecatingly said "quite handsome."
In the video, Lei Jun, dressed in a racing suit, drove the Xiaomi SU7 and completed the counter-steering drifting action on the track, and demonstrated the skill of circular drifting.
*Declaration: This article is the original creation of the author. The content of the article is his personal opinion. Our reposting is only for sharing and discussion, and does not represent our approval or agreement. If there are any objections, please contact the backstage.
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