Xiaomi raises EV sales target, plans new global stores as Q4 revenue rises

China's Xiaomi on Tuesday reported an almost 50 per cent jump in fourth-quarter revenue, beating analyst estimates, and raised its target for electric vehicle deliveries this year to 350,000 from 300,000. 

The world's third-largest smartphone maker, whose product lines extend to home appliances and cars, also said it planned to expand its store network across China this year and open 10,000 new Mi Home stores overseas in the next five years. 

The company reported a 48.8 per cent rise in fourth-quarter revenue to 109 billion yuan ($15.1 billion), beating the 103.94 billion yuan average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. 

 

Adjusted net profit jumped 69.4 per cent year-on-year to 8.32 billion yuan, ahead of the average estimate of 6.399 billion yuan. 

Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said on an earnings call that he saw great potential for the company's products - from phones and tablets to cars - in overseas markets, though he added the complexity of expanding abroad was "quite high". 

Lu said the company aimed to start shipping cars overseas in 2027. 

Xiaomi's Hong Kong-listed shares closed up 3.3 per cent before the earnings release. The stock has surged 284 per cent over the past 12 months amid investor enthusiasm for its EV plans. 

Xiaomi began manufacturing EVs last year with the launch of the SU7 sedan after selling smartphones, household appliances and smart gadgets for most of its 15-year history. 

It reported 32.1 billion yuan in revenue for its EV business in 2024, delivering more than 135,000 SU7 sedans. The adjusted net loss related to its EV and other new initiatives reached 6.2 billion yuan. 

Xiaomi's fourth-quarter global smartphone shipments rose 5 per cent from a year earlier to 42.7 million handsets, ranking it third globally, with a market share of 13 per cent, data from researcher Canalys showed. 

In China, its largest market, shipments surged 29 per cent to 12.2 million handsets over the same period, ranking it fourth, with a market share of 16 per cent, according to the Canalys data. 

Lu said Xiaomi aimed to ship 180 million smartphones this year, versus in 2024, adding the company would invest up to 8 billion yuan, about a quarter of its total research and development budget this year, in AI-related initiatives.  (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)