Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee met with Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun at Xiaomi’s Beijing EV factory this week, which is a significant development that could reshape the electric vehicle supply chain. This also marks the first official meeting between the tech giants in seven years and signals potential collaboration between the smartphone rivals in the booming EV sector.
Xiaomi is aggressively expanding its electric vehicle ambitions
The Chinese tech giant sold 137,000 SU7 units in its debut year, generating $4.5 billion in revenue, with plans to scale production to 350,000 vehicles in 2025 before going global by 2027. This rapid expansion creates massive demand for components where Samsung’s ecosystem excels – including advanced batteries (Samsung SDI), automotive displays, AI chips, and infotainment systems (Harman International).
Industry analysts note the meeting likely progressed beyond preliminary discussions, given the venue choice and seniority of attendees. The companies already maintain a strong supplier relationship, with Xiaomi sourcing Samsung’s memory chips, NAND flash storage, and OLED displays for its smartphones. This existing partnership provides a natural foundation for EV collaboration.
The foray into the EV supply chain market could be beneficial for Samsung as well. The South Korean giant has been facing challenges in its core semiconductor business for a while. For instance, Samsung couldn’t prepare the Exynos 2300 and Exynos 2500 chips in time, and Google also switched back to TSMC for the fabrication of the Tensor G5.
So, diversifying into automotive supply chains could provide stability. Samsung’s affiliate companies collectively offer nearly 60% of the components needed for modern EVs, positioning the group as an ideal partner for Xiaomi’s ambitious production targets.
While neither company has confirmed specific collaboration terms, the high-profile meeting suggests formal announcements may follow soon. Such a partnership would represent a rare case of cooperation between smartphone market rivals. It underscores how the $800 billion EV market is creating unexpected alliances across the tech and automotive industries.
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