(Yicai Global) March 19 -- Chinese smartphone and gadgets giant Xiaomi is pushing ahead quickly with a project to make its own electric vehicles, according to online tech media 36Kr.

The project is expected to launch next month at the earliest, the report said, citing investors close to Xiaomi founder Lei Jun and a top auto company executive familiar with the matter.

Initial discussions on brand positioning suggest the new venture will be similar to that of Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng Motors, which is targeting the medium- and high-end market with strong tech features.

Lei, who is also chairman of Beijing-based Xiaomi, met Li Bin, founder of Chinese new energy vehicle maker Nio, at the end of last month to consult him on manufacturing, according to an insider familiar with the matter.

“Xiaomi had earlier thought of commissioning the production to BYD and other carmakers, but was worried about control and the degree of resource investment of adopting such a model,” the person said. “It is therefore trying to find partners with production resources that can be controlled through a merger.”

Stock Price

Xiaomi’s shares [HKG:1810] closed little changed at HKD26.25 (USD3.38) today, a gain of 0.2 percent, after earlier jumping as much as 3.4 percent. The broader Hang Seng Index rose 1.4 percent.

The executive in charge of Xiaomi’s car production business is Wang Chuan, the company’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, 36Kr reported. Wang was in charge of its television business, one of Xiaomi’s most successful apart from handsets.

Wang often visited new energy vehicle startup Li Auto last year, another market insider noted. He has also been in touch with some of the industry’s top executives, but the possibility that Xiaomi will make one of its own chief executive of the new venture cannot be excluded, the insider said.

On Feb. 19 Xiaomi responded to a report by the Late Post, a media outlet under financial news magazine Caijing, that said the firm had decided to make vehicles, regarding it as a strategy-level decision, and the new venture could be led by Lei himself. Xiaomi said no information could be disclosed at the time and details would be specified in upcoming announcements.

Xiaomi would not be the first big Chinese tech firm to move into the new energy vehicle sector.Early in January, internet search giant Baidu and Geely Holding Group revealed plans for a joint venture to make smart EVs.

Editor: Peter Thomas