The new energy vehicle market has shown a blowout development in recent years, and charging infrastructure, as a key link in the popularization of electric vehicles, has been highly concerned by consumers and car companies. According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, as of November 2024, China's new energy vehicle sales have exceeded 8 million, accounting for 38% of new car sales. However, compared with the rapidly growing demand of car owners, the construction speed of charging piles is still insufficient. As of October 2024, the total number of charging piles in the country is about 6.5 million, of which only a quarter are public charging piles.
In this context, Xiaomi Auto announced that it will cooperate with three leading car companies, NIO, Xpeng and Ideal, to jointly expand charging network resources. Through the integration of existing resources, more than 30,000 charging piles have been added to the Xiaomi charging map, which has successfully taken an important step in the layout of the energy replenishment network. This cooperation not only relieves the financial and time pressure on the construction of charging facilities, but also provides more convenient services for car owners. China Exportsemi will go deep behind this incident and dig deeper meaning and impact.
Cooperation details and technical support
The highlight of this cooperation is the deep integration of data and technology between the three parties. Specifically:
1. The scale of charging pile access
- NIO provided 14,000 charging piles, including 3,000 battery swap stations. NIO's battery swap technology is known for its high efficiency, with a single battery swap time of only 3 minutes, and covers about 85% of the country's expressway service areas.
- Xpeng provides 9,000 charging piles, which are concentrated in the core areas of first- and second-tier cities, mainly DC fast charging, with a maximum charging power of 180kW, supporting mainstream electric models on the market.
- Ideal provides 6,000 charging piles, which are positioned to supplement home charging scenarios, covering second-tier cities and below, and the service is mainly slow charging.
Figure: Xiaomi's charging network expansion: NIO, Xpeng, and Ideal Boost, exceeding 30,000 charging piles
2. Platform integration and user experience
By upgrading the charging map module of its own APP, Xiaomi Auto seamlessly integrates the charging pile resources of the three parties, and users can view the busy status, price, parking fee and other information of the charging pile in real time. In addition, Xiaomi has introduced a smart recommendation function that dynamically recommends the optimal charging scheme based on the user's vehicle's battery capacity and remaining power.
3. Payment system and preferential policies
Xiaomi Auto and its three partners have jointly launched a unified payment interface, which allows users to complete the payment operation of all charging piles through one account, avoiding the trouble of switching between multiple apps. At the same time, Xiaomi car users can enjoy a 10% discount on each charge of some charging piles within the first year, which further enhances user stickiness.
The advantages of the cooperation model for the growth of Xiaomi Auto
This charging network cooperation model has far-reaching strategic significance for the development of Xiaomi Auto:
1. Rapid expansion of resources
As a new entrant in the new energy vehicle market, Xiaomi's current resource accumulation is not enough to support a large-scale self-built charging pile system. By integrating existing industry resources, Xiaomi quickly completed the preliminary layout of the charging network, which not only saved a lot of money, but also shortened the market penetration time.
2. Brand reputation enhancement
The cooperation with mature car companies such as NIO, Xiaopeng, and Li has brought brand endorsement to Xiaomi. This not only strengthens consumers' trust in its charging services, but also provides a good example for future cooperation with other car companies and suppliers.
3. Data accumulation and ecological construction
Through the cooperation, Xiaomi has obtained a large amount of user usage data, such as charging time, frequency, location preference, etc. This data provides important support for optimizing product design and improving user experience. In addition, Xiaomi's ecological accumulation in smart homes, mobile phones, Internet of Vehicles and other fields can also be seamlessly connected with the charging network to form a unique market competitiveness.
Promote the standardization of charging piles
This cooperation model is not only beneficial to the development of Xiaomi cars, but may also have a positive impact on the development and popularization of charging pile standards.
1. Promote the popularization of general-purpose charging piles
At present, there is a certain degree of standard splitting in China's charging pile market. The charging pile interfaces of different car companies are not fully compatible, which affects the convenience of users. Through joint construction, Xiaomi, NIO, Xpeng, and Ideal have gradually formed a consensus on charging pile specifications and interface compatibility, and may promote the wide application of general-purpose charging piles in the future.
2. Reduce construction costs and improve efficiency
The resource sharing mode significantly reduces the waste of duplicate construction, reduces the construction and maintenance costs of charging piles, and improves the user utilization rate. For example, NIO's battery swap stations were previously limited to their own users, but through this cooperation, Xiaomi car owners can also choose to use the battery swap service, which significantly alleviates the shortage of charging piles in popular areas.
3. Provide reference for the formulation of regulations
In recent years, the state's policy support for the construction of charging facilities has been increasing. This cooperation may become a pilot case for the government to promote the standardization and unification of charging piles, and provide a reference for the formulation of future regulations.
Xiaomi Auto's market performance and future outlook
Since its launch in March 2024, the Xiaomi SU7 model has become a popular model in the market. As of December, cumulative deliveries exceeded 100,000 units. In contrast, it usually takes 12 to 18 months for traditional automakers to launch new models to reach this sales volume.
In addition, Xiaomi Auto's second model, the YU7, is expected to be launched in June 2025, and its main market strategy is differentiated, and it will be equipped with a 120kWh solid-state battery with a range of 1,000 kilometers. This will further strengthen Xiaomi's competitive position in the smart electric vehicle market.
Conclusion
In the view of the editor of China's overseas semiconductor network, the cooperation between Xiaomi Auto and NIO, Xiaopeng, and Ideal is a model of industry resource integration. This model not only provides users with more convenient charging services, but also may promote the standardization of charging piles and the overall efficiency of the industry. With the deepening of cooperation, Xiaomi Auto's brand influence, market share and technology accumulation will be further enhanced. At the same time, the success of this model also provides a useful reference for other enterprises in the industry, or will lead a new trend in the construction of new energy vehicle charging network.
