Almost eight years ago, Mr. Lei and Sister Dong had a famous "1 billion bet." It is said that Gree Dong Mingzhu won the bet at that time. Logically speaking, Xiaomi Lei Jun should pay Ms. Dong 1 billion in "gambling debts", but Ms. Dong said: I don't want this 1 billion anymore, I just want to gamble again.
Mr. Lei readily accepted this and thought he could give it a try! So everyone is curious, in what field will the sequel of the two people's 1 billion bet be in? But now the two of them have announced the construction of a car, is it because they have the same vision? Or is it for other reasons?
On August 31, Gree Electric Appliances obtained 30.47% equity of Yinlong New Energy Co., Ltd. through judicial auction; on September 1, Lei Jun announced on social platforms that Xiaomi Motors was officially registered, and the company name was Xiaomi Motors Co., Ltd. company with a registered capital of 10 billion.
In just two days, Dong Mingzhu and Lei Jun successively announced their entry into the new energy vehicle field. One is a leading air-conditioning company, and the other is an all-ecological technology company. Both have their relevance and advantages when entering the field of car manufacturing. Facing the widespread demand for new energy vehicles in the future, can they stand out?
Although cross-border car manufacturing seems to be lively, a closer look at the car manufacturing paths of these two companies shows that they are different, and they are also very different from traditional car companies.
Xiaomi focuses on smart solutions and continues Lei Jun’s business characteristics. Lei Jun personally leads the team and independently researches and develops new technologies such as autonomous driving. It wants to integrate the industry chain and promote Xiaomi’s software and hardware ecology and automobiles. Industrial integration and prosperity.
Gree Dong Mingzhu focuses on energy and electrical components. Through acquisitions, the company will focus on the fields of energy storage, parts and commercial vehicle batteries, and test the boundaries. This move is relatively low-related to its main business, but it is controllable.
Secondly, the playing styles are different.
Lei Jun’s style of play is to take advantage of the opportunity of forming a group, and is probably positioned as the first car for young people; while Dong Mingzhu’s style of play starts from the B side, and then extends to the C side after establishing a firm foundation. , the advantage of this strategy is that the input cost is relatively small, and there is a successful precedent of BYD. The disadvantage is that the new energy bus market is small and the growth ceiling is not high.
Different entry points and different entry methods allow Gree and Xiaomi to take different paths in the field of smart cars. But what is certain is that smart cars will inevitably represent the future trend of automobile manufacturing. For them, this is not only a crossover, but also a revolution, but at the same time, there are risks hidden behind it.
After the “1 billion bet”, Lei Jun and Dong Mingzhu have also been trying to enter the territory that each other is familiar with and good at: Xiaomi has laid out smart homes, Gree has also manufactured mobile phones, and the two are now meeting in the field of new energy vehicles. , a big bet on the future.
With the increase in policies to promote new energy vehicles and Tesla’s market value soaring, the growth logic of new energy vehicles is clear. BYD, Weilai, Xiaopeng, etc. have stepped into the spotlight. The capital market is currently placing great emphasis on car manufacturing. The attitude has already changed 180 degrees.
Although Gree and Xiaomi are leaders in their respective industries, they have reached high levels in their respective fields and have little room for growth. And due to historical reasons, my country's automobile industry started late, and there is still a big gap in technology compared with other countries. As a new field, new energy vehicles are highly tolerant of the masses and have huge market demand. In addition, Gree and Xiaomi are both leaders in the electrical appliance industry and are fully compatible with new energy technologies. The development of new energy vehicles will be conducive to promoting their diversified development.
From this point of view, people have to guess: Is the new bet between Miss Dong and Mr. Lei in the car manufacturing industry? If it is true, then who do you think will lose and who will win this time?