(Yicai) March 14 -- Beijing Smartmi Technology, a home appliance designer under the Xiaomi Ecological Chain, has joined hands with Chinese automaker Chery Automobile to co-develop new energy vehicles.

Smartmi and Chery Auto have been cooperating since the first half of last year, Yicai learned. The former is responsible for product planning, definition, and styling, while the latter is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, sales channels, and other related aspects.

The first product under the Smartmi-Chery Auto partnership is in the engineering development phase, while several other products are in the blueprint design stage, Yicai learned.

Smartmi’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Su Jun was named chief product planning officer at Chery Auto. Meanwhile, the Beijing-based firm deployed over 100 employees to the carmaker to fill roles in the product planning, procurement, research and development, sales, and other departments.

The partnership between Smartmi and Chery Auto is similar to the Huawei Smart Selection Model, but Smartmi is not involved in sales like Huawei.

Smartmi was founded in 2014 as one of the pioneer companies within the Xiaomi Ecological Chain, the collection of independent enterprises invested by Xiaomi. Smartmi’s product lineup includes air purifiers, smart toilets, electric fans, humidifiers, and air conditioners.

In June 2021, Su established an automobile company with a registered capital of CNY1 million (USD139,030). He holds a 100 percent stake in the firm, serving as its executive director and manager. Yu Anbing, co-founder of Smartmi, acts as the company’s supervisor.

Editor: Futura Costaglione