(Yicai) March 27 -- Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics giant whose first electric vehicle will be launched tomorrow, aims to become one of the leading players in smart driving this year, according to its founder.

“Smart driving is a key battleground for smart electric vehicles,” Lei Jun said on Weibo yesterday.

Xiaomi has focused a lot on the smart driving field, Lei said. Its research and development team has more than 1,000 staff, which will top 1,500 by the end of the year, and it has dedicated test vehicles that have done over 10 million kilometers of road testing, he added.

Xiaomi's much-anticipated first car, the SU7, will be launched tomorrow, when its pricing will also be revealed. The car will be slightly expensive, President Lu Weibing said previously. The Beijing-based firm aims to take third place in the pure electric luxury sedan segment, he added. 

Some of Xiaomi's progress in smart driving will be shown at the launch event, Lei said.

Xiaomi insists on independently researching and developing full-stack technologies, Lei said. High-end smart driving functions will become standard on Xiaomi's models, including nationwide autopilot navigation, one-click valet parking, and parking assistance.

The company entered the phone market in 2010 and has been among the world's top three handset suppliers, Lei noted. It is also the world's largest consumer-grade Artificial Intelligence of Things platform, having built up technological ability in operating systems, AI, and robots, he added.

Xiaomi will gradually apply these capabilities to its vehicles to become the technological highland for the firm's auto competitiveness, Lei noted.

Shares of Xiaomi [HKG: 1810] closed 3.5 percent lower at HKD14.76 (USD1.89) apiece in Hong Kong today. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev