Xiaomi hires BMW engineers for its European e-mobility research center
The Chinese brand will open an advanced research center for electric cars in Munich, seeking to leverage European expertise in the automotive industry.
After leaving half the world speechless with the presentation of the new SU7 UltraXiaomi continues to advance along its roadmap with the goal of becoming the new global leader in electric mobility. The Chinese company aims to make a grand entrance in Europe with the construction of an innovative electric car research and development center in Munich, Germany's automotive capital, which is expected to be operational by 2027.
After closing several agreements with shipping companies to guarantee the supply of its products to Europe and the United States, Xiaomi is preparing to launch its models in Europe. However, the CEOs of the Chinese brand know that their technical and engineering solutions are not yet at the level of European ones, so they have decided to build their own center in the Bavarian capital that will allow them to acquire the knowledge and experience necessary to consolidate Xiaomi as one of the top five electric car manufacturers by 2030.
To adequately staff this new electric car research and development center, Xiaomi is hiring experts, executives, and engineers from major German aspirational brands, especially BMW, which is headquartered in Munich. So far, Xiaomi has hired around five senior executives, led by Rudolf Dittrich, who left BMW after more than fifteen years with the Bavarian company. He will be joined by Dusan Sarac, who was also a senior executive—the manager—at the Munich brand.
Xiaomi's new European center is intended to be the tool that allows for improving the dynamic performance, sportiness, and fine-tuning of the brand's vehicles, and that will advance the SU7 Ultra and its 1,548 hp of power. European and American buyers of high-performance and aspirational vehicles value fine-tuning, dynamics, and sporty driving sensations, an aspect in which Chinese brands cannot compete (yet) with the major European manufacturers. That's why they are now opting to add the know-how contributed by European experts with a new research center in the heart of Europe.
