Lei Jun Steps Back from Xiaomi Launches to Focus on Automotive Projects
Sudden Announcement: Lei Jun Will No Longer Speak at Xiaomi Phone Launch Events
On the evening of February 3rd, Lei Jun announced on social media that “Xiaomi SU7 is currently undergoing comprehensive road testing nationwide, and we are busy making final preparations for the launch of Xiaomi SU7. In order for me to focus more on our automotive business, the company has decided that Lu Weibing, the group’s president, will also serve as the general manager of the Xiaomi brand and will be the keynote speaker at Xiaomi phone launch events from now on, starting with the Xiaomi 14Ultra.”
At the same time, Lei Jun emphasized that the mobile phone business remains Xiaomi’s core business, and he will continue to devote sufficient energy to it.
Lu Weibing Takes Over
Named General Manager of the Xiaomi Brand
Following Lei Jun’s announcement, Lu Weibing, the group’s president of Xiaomi Group, assumed another role. Lu Weibing reposted Lei Jun’s Weibo post with the caption, “Thanks to Mr. Lei for his trust. Serving as the general manager of the Xiaomi brand is a great responsibility and a glorious mission. I will spare no effort to continuously improve in the established direction. See you at the Xiaomi 14Ultra launch event!”
According to the resume disclosed on the Xiaomi Group’s official website, Lu Weibing was born in September 1975, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Tsinghua University in 1998, and an Executive MBA from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in 2009. He currently serves as a partner, president of the group, and president of the international business department at Xiaomi Group, overseeing the mobile phone department, ecological chain department, home appliance department, Chinese and Indian regions.
Lu Weibing joined Xiaomi Group in 2019, where he was responsible for sales management in the Chinese and international departments, as well as building the Redmi brand and handling product planning, production, sales, and marketing.
Prior to joining Xiaomi, Lu Weibing was the founder and CEO of Shenzhen Chengyi Technology Co., Ltd. from June 2017 to December 2018. From April 2010 to June 2017, he served as the president of Shenzhen Jinli Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. Before that, from January 2008 to March 2010, Lu Weibing was the general manager of the Overseas Business Department of Beijing Tianyu Longtong Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. He also served as the sales manager of Konka Communication Technology Co., Ltd. from July 1998 to December 2007.
Xiaomi SU7 Expected to Launch in the First Half of the Year
“Strong Configuration, High Cost”
On December 28, 2023, at a Xiaomi Group event, the first product of Xiaomi’s automotive branch, the SU7, was unveiled to the public after three years of development, attracting significant attention once again.
Regarding the official launch date, Lei Jun mentioned that it is expected to be officially released in the first half of 2024, with small-scale production currently underway. “This car has a very strong configuration, and the cost is very high. The prices people are speculating about—99000 yuan, 149000 yuan, or even 199000 yuan—I think they are joking. The pricing may indeed be a bit high, and we will announce it at the formal launch event of Xiaomi Automotive.”
On January 30, media reports indicated that the premium version of Xiaomi’s car was insured for 361,400 yuan based on confirmation from a major insurance company. In response, Xiaomi Automotive stated to Red Star Capital that Wang Hua, the general manager of the public relations department at Xiaomi Group, had already addressed it on Weibo.
According to the online insurance information exposed, the insurance price for the Xiaomi BJ7000MBEVA1 electric sedan was 361,400 yuan. This model was one of the two new cars from Xiaomi Automotive listed in the 377th batch of announcements for road motor vehicle production enterprises and products by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology back in November of last year. An automotive blogger pointed out that the filing of a new car does not have strict price requirements but requires a genuine invoice, which may not reflect the actual selling price.
General Manager Wang Hua of Xiaomi Group’s PR department reshared the blogger’s comment, stating, “There are knowledgeable people out there! Recently, you should have seen internal vehicles starting to get licensed. This is also to test all processes of running, passing, and serving, and of course, buying insurance is one of them.” He mentioned in the comment that this practice is a basic operation within the industry that many people are unaware of, implying that the insurance price is not the actual selling price, but rather for testing purposes.
Source: Compiled from Daily Economic News, Red Star News, @Lei Jun, Shenzhen Business Daily, and public sources.