“We’re more focused on our growth than profitability at this point,” said Lam, a trained engineer and former Credit Suisse banker who orchestrated some of Xiaomi’s biggest bets. The value-for-money philosophy that Xiaomi used to climb into the upper echelons of the global phone business will also apply to its EVs, he added.
Xiaomi is willing to grow its nascent electric vehicle arm at the expense of profits for now, as it angles to join Tesla and BYD among the world’s biggest automakers over the next decade or two.
The company, known for making everything from smartphones to rice cookers and luggage, is prioritising growth of the EV business over margins for now, CFO Alain Lam told Bloomberg Television. The five-month-old business will take some time to stem losses, he said.
