Zhou Xing, formerly vice president of the sales arm of SAIC-GM-Wuling, will join Xiaomi Auto as head of marketing in August.

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is continuing to push forward with its car-building efforts, as another automotive industry luminary is joining the company.

Zhou Xing, formerly vice president of the sales arm of SAIC-GM Wuling, will officially join Xiaomi's car-making division, Xiaomi Auto, in August as head of marketing, reporting directly to chairman Lei Jun, according to a report by Yicai on Thursday.

(Image credit: Wuling)

While the success of the Mini EV is not due to Zhou alone, he has been recognized for his marketing skills.

Xiaomi officially announced it was joining the car-making bandwagon on March 30 last year, saying its initial investment in the car business was RMB 10 billion ($1.54 billion), with an expected investment of $10 billion over the next 10 years.

The company announced on September 1 last year that it had officially completed company registration for its auto business as Xiaomi Auto Co Ltd.

At the end of November last year, Xiaomi signed a contract with the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area Management Committee to build a headquarters base for its auto business and its sales and R&D headquarters in Yizhuang, and will build an auto factory with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units.

Xiaomi's car-making progress is approaching a major point, with Lei set to have an engineering prototype of the company's first model unveiled at a public event in August, Sina Tech said on July 15, citing sources connected to the company and its partners.

Lei is so invested in Xiaomi Auto that he will spend almost two-thirds of his time in the office building where the auto business is located separately whenever he is based at Xiaomi's tech park, these people said.

On March 22, Xiaomi said in its fourth-quarter earnings report that its smart electric vehicle business was progressing beyond expectations, maintaining expectations of seeing the first model in full production in the first half of 2024.

Rivian R1T electric truck spotted at Xiaomi's campus in Beijing