Xiaomi has asked for 1 Million Yuan ($148000) from Beijing Molding Technology Co. Ltd as compensation and penalty for leaking the company’s yet-to-be-launched Electric Car design.
On January 22, Beijing Molding Technology accidentally leaked the design of the front and rear bumpers of the yet-to-be-released MS11 Xiaomi Electric Car. The company said that the drafts were leaked by sub-vendors, and it was not directly responsible for the incident.
However, according to the confidentiality agreement signed between Beijing Molding Technology and Xiaomi Auto, the former will be held responsible for the incident. Beijing molding will have to pay a hefty fine of 1 Million Yuan to Xiaomi for breach of contract and tighten the security measures with its downstream operations.
CEO Lei Jun said that Xiaomi had zero tolerance for leaks and hoped that all partners and suppliers would abide by the Confidentiality Agreement. The hefty fine was a lesson to all partners that Xiaomi will not accept or allow such incidents and will deal strictly with defaulters.
Apart from the fine, Xiaomi has asked Beijing Molding Technology to also submit a detailed rectification plan that can upgrade and improve the existing security measures.
Chinese social media went berserk last week when the images of Xiaomi’s upcoming EV were leaked. The leaks showed a sleek and sophisticated image of a sporty Sedan that was named MS11.
The EV has been spotted multiple times in China with CEO Lei Jun behind the wheel test-driving the car. However, all test drives were done under wraps with utmost secrecy.
In March 2021, Xiaomi announced that it will join the EV sector and planned to invest $10 billion over the next 10 years. In August 2021, it acquired the autonomous driving company Deepmotions for $77 million.
Last year CEO Lei Jun said that autonomous driving was the future of EVs and Xiaomi is planning to develop its own self-driving technology. The company expanded its R&D team in 2022 and is all set to mass-produce its cars in 2024.
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(via)
