In the episode of CCTV’s “Face to Face” program aired on the evening of December 17, Xiaomi Group’s founder and chairman, Lei Jun, was interviewed and discussed Xiaomi’s efforts in the high-end and automotive sectors.

Lei Jun told reporters that he believes Xiaomi has many natural advantages in entering the automotive industry. He emphasized that the essence of smart electric vehicles today lies in the integration of the automotive and consumer electronics industries, constituting a significant convergence. Therefore, entering the automotive sector poses challenges for Xiaomi, but overall, the difficulty is manageable.

Lei Jun mentioned that three years ago, he thought making cars was a challenging endeavor. After conducting user research, they established the principle of adhering to conventions while introducing surprises: fully respecting the norms of the automotive industry, using mature industry technologies to ensure the quality of the first car, and innovating within this overarching framework.

Lei Jun stated, “For our first car, we’ve invested more than 3,400 engineers, and the entire research and development expenditure has exceeded RMB 10 billion. We’ve used more than ten times the investment. With this level of confidence, I approached it with a ‘must-win’ attitude.”

When discussing expectations for the first car, Lei Jun mentioned that there is definitely an expectation, but he acknowledges the complexity of the automotive industry. He expressed concerns, particularly fearing that the car might not gain immediate popularity, and people may not buy it initially.

However, he is even more worried that if everyone rushes to buy, there might be a wait of one or two years, which would undoubtedly lead to severe criticism.

Previous reports indicated that Xiaomi’s inaugural car aims to deliver 300 units in December, with preparations currently in progress for exhibition vehicles.

Earlier on December 12, information about Xiaomi’s car model SU7 battery appeared in the latest catalog of new energy vehicle models exempt from vehicle purchase tax released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The information shows that Xiaomi’s car model SU7 has two battery versions with capacities of 101kWh and 73.6kWh, respectively. Depending on the specific model, the corresponding CLTC (China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle) range for the 101kWh version is 800km and 750km, while for the 73.6kWh version, it is 668km and 628km.

(Photo credit: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology)

With Apple’s Extended Reality (XR) headgear, Vision Pro, set to hit the market early next year, Samsung is reportedly making diligent preparations to unveil its own XR product.

According to a report from Pulse News, the English version of the Korean Daily Economic News website, data released by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on the 14th indicates that Samsung Display has recently filed for a new trademark, “Flex Magic,” sparking rumors that it is intended for Samsung’s next-generation XR headset.

Samsung Display mentioned in its application documents that the universal applications of its display panel include 3D Spectacles, Virtual Reality Headsets, Virtual Reality Goggles, and smart glasses. The company had also applied for the same trademark with the European Union Patent Office in November.

While filing a patent does not guarantee the release of a product, the South Korean industry believes that Samsung Electronics has made significant progress towards unveiling a new product.

Reportedly, industry insiders in South Korea reveal that Samsung has set a goal to launch an XR device early next year, potentially entering a new frontier in competition with Apple. Initially named “Galaxy Glass,” this device was originally scheduled for a later release next year.

In February of this year, Samsung Electronics officially announced its entry into the XR market in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm. It is expected that Samsung Electronics will handle hardware development, Google will manage software, and Qualcomm will provide chipsets specifically for the XR platform.

Reportedly, industry insiders in South Korea anticipate that its primary competitor, Apple’s Vision Pro, is expected to launch in the United States in March of next year, followed by expansion into other countries, with a starting price of USD 3,499.

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On December 13th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) of South Korea held a ceremony to celebrate the establishment of the public-private Mobility Charging Industry Convergence Alliance. During the ceremony, the South Korean government announced measures aimed at promoting the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry and providing support to charging station operators.

According to a news report from Businesskorea, the South Korean government revealed a target of capturing a 10% global market share for chargers made by Korean companies by 2030, a significant leap from the current 1%.

The South Korean government aims to acquire five key technologies by 2030 in the field of EV charging market. These include ultra-fast charging, wireless charging, charging robots, intelligent charging, and cybersecurity software for charging stations.

The ultimate objective is to foster the growth of at least five domestic charging pile manufacturers with a combined annual revenue exceeding KRW 50 billion (approximately USD 38.66 million). Additionally, the government wants to significantly increase South Korea’s global market share in the EV charging market from 1.2% last year to 10% by 2030.

To achieve this policy objective, MOTIE has established the public-private Mobility Charging Industry Convergence Alliance. This alliance consists of more than 40 companies and 20 organizations, encompassing charging pile manufacturers, component suppliers, charging service operators, as well as testing and certification organizations.

TrendForce anticipates that by 2026, the global tally of public charging stations will soar to 16 million, marking an impressive threefold increase from 2023 figure. Alongside this growth, the global ownership of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which include plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), is projected to surge to 96 million. This will result in a vehicle-to-charger ratio of 6:1, a significant decrease from the 10:1 ratio observed in 2021.

(Photo credit: Pixabay)

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• Driven by Global Government Initiatives: A Surge in Public Charging Piles Expected—16 Million by 2026, Tripling 2023 Figures, Says TrendForce

China’s penetration rate of new energy vehicles (NEVs) exceeded 40% for the first time in November this year, reaching 40.4% in domestic retail sales, a 4 percentage point increase from the same period last year. Optimistic growth is anticipated by 2024, with wholesale sales of new energy passenger vehicles expected to reach 11 million units.

The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released the latest data, forecasting that the total sales of passenger vehicles in China in November 2023 will reach 25.5 million units. With a huge increase of the 3.2 million units exported in 2017, the overall sales of passenger vehicles are set to significantly surpass the wholesale volume of 24.5 million units in 2017, reaching a historic high.

It is evident that NEVs in China are seen as a catalyst for the next wave of economic momentum. According to a report by the BJNews, Cui Dongshu, the Secretary General of CPCA, stated that the Chinese domestic retail penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles in November was 40.4%, a 4 percentage point increase from the 36% penetration rate of the same period last year.

This marks China’s first-ever monthly penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles exceeding 40%. As a key driver of growth in the Chinese passenger vehicle market, the retail sales of NEVs in November increased by nearly 40%, reaching 841,000 units with an 8.9% MoM growth.

In the first 11 months of this year, China’s cumulative retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 6.809 million units, a YoY increase of 35.2%. CPCA believes that the growth outlook for the new energy passenger vehicle market in 2024 is relatively optimistic, with wholesale sales expected to reach 11 million units, a net increase of 2.3 million units, a 22% YoY increase, and a penetration rate of 40%.

Chinese brands in the NEV sector are gradually expanding their market influence through multifaceted development in technology and sales strategies. According to CPCA statistics, in November, 18 companies saw wholesale sales exceed 10,000 units, accounting for 88.9% of the total new energy passenger vehicle volume. BYD continued to lead the rankings with a monthly sales volume of about 301,400 units, followed closely by Tesla China with 82,400 units. The export of Chinese brand new energy passenger vehicles also showed significant growth, with A0-class electric vehicles accounting for nearly 60% and becoming the absolute mainstay of exports.

(Image: BYD)

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After obtaining approval from Chinese regulatory authorities at the end of November, Broadcom, a leading IC design company, has officially completed the acquisition of VMware, a prominent player in cloud computing. This strategic move propels Broadcom into the competitive cloud market, with software becoming a substantial part of its revenue. This trend of IC design companies, including AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia, venturing into software acquisitions continues to reshape the industry landscape.

Broadcom announced the acquisition of VMware on May 26, 2022, through a cash and stock transaction valued at USD 61 billion. After obtaining approvals from global regulatory authorities, including the EU, UK, South Korea, and Japan, the final conditional clearance from Chinese authorities was secured. This clearance involved ensuring compatibility between VMware server software and Broadcom hardware competitors’ products. The official announcement of completion came on November 22, 2023, following approval from Chinese authority. The final total transaction value came to USD 69 billion.

VMware, known for its expertise in cloud computing and virtualization software, separated from Dell in late 2021. With a customer base exceeding 400,000, it competes with Nutanix and Cloud Software Group. VMware’s core service lies in multi-cloud management, streamlining the integration of cloud resources from various vendors. It enables customers to manage multiple public clouds on a unified platform. The VMware platform significantly reduces the time needed for data migration to different public clouds, from 45 months to approximately 2.5 months.

Broadcom’s Software Business Soars to 40-45% Share after Acquisition, Ventures into Cloud and AI Markets

In 2023, VMware is expected to dominate the server virtualization market with a market share exceeding 70%. VMware’s strategic plan involves increasing the sales share of subscription services and cloud services from 25% in 2021 to 40% by 2025. With Q2 2023 revenue of USD 3.41 billion, almost double the size of Broadcom’s software business, the merger positions Broadcom’s software business to account for 40-45% of the total revenue.

This May, Broadcom CEO Tan Hock Eeng publicity stated that his company is committed to an annual investment of USD 2 billion in VMware’s R&D. Following the acquisition, Broadcom’s software division will be rebranded as VMware, and a shift from perpetual software licenses to subscription and SaaS models is planned. Broadcom aims to increase VMware’s EBITDA from USD4.7 billion in the 2022 fiscal year to USD 8.5 billion within three years.

Besides Broadcom’s entry into the cloud market through VMware, TrendForce also highlights VMware’s significance as a key partner for NVIDIA. The expanded strategic partnership, announced in August 2023, resulted in the establishment of Private AI Foundation with NVIDIA. Built on the VMware Cloud Foundation, the Private AI Foundation is a platform that allows enterprises to customize models and deploy Generative AI applications. The acquisition positions Broadcom to tap into NVIDIA’s AI ecosystem, providing an opportunity to join the NVIDIA AI server supply chain and explore the immense potential brought by AI.

Tech Giants Embrace Ecosystem Competition as IC Design Firms Dive into the Software Industry

To enhance customer loyalty, major companies including Apple, Microsoft, Google, have progressively taken part in ecosystem competition in recent years. These companies have successfully established robust ecosystems. At the same time, IC design companies are gradually venturing into the software industry, shifting the focus from mergers within the IC design sector to mergers in the software industry. In addition to Broadcom acquiring VMware, notable instances in 2022 include AMD’s acquisition of data center platform provider Pensando, Qualcomm’s purchase of automotive software companies Veoneer and Arriver, and NVIDIA’s takeover of software-defined storage(SDS) company Excelero.

For Broadcom, strategic acquisitions have been a recurring theme since the failed attempt to acquire Qualcomm in 2018, after former U.S. President Donald Trump blocked it with national security concerns. Notable acquisitions include the USD18.9 billion purchase of mainframe service company CA Technologies in 2018, the USD 10.7 billion acquisition of the security division of Symantec in 2019, and the unsuccessful attempt to acquire statistical analysis software company SAS Institute for USD15-20 billion in 2021.

Buying software companies provides Broadcom with the advantage of leveraging cross-selling. This enables the promotion of its products, such as compute offload business, server storage connectivity, fiber optics, Jericho routers, and Tomahawk switches, to enterprise customers adopting solutions from these software companies.

(Image: Broadcom)