Xiaomi launches electric bike, will it come to India?
Xioami has been diversifying for a while now and is becoming a tech company from a smartphone maker
Chinese tech major Xiaomi, which holds the largest smartphone market share in India, has now entered into the electric vehicle (EV) space with the launch of its new electric bike, Himo T1, in China.
Priced at 2,999 Yuan (approx Rs 30,000), the Himo T1 is a one-button start vehicle, which runs on lithium-ion battery with a total capacity of 14,000mAh and a nominal voltage of 48V, according to media reports. Reports suggests that the e-bike will be shipped by Shanghai Ximo Electric Technology, in China starting June 4, 2019.
Xioami has been diversifying for a while now and is fast emerging as a tech company apart from being a smartphone manufacturer. According to the Chinese publication, GizmoChina, Xiaomi has launched more than 44 non-smartphone products in the last one year.
Closer home, YourStory's sources in Xiaomi say that the company does not plan to launch an EV anytime soon in India, as it will wait for the appropriate infrastructure to begin operations. It will be interesting to see when and at what price Xiaomi's EVs will be available in India.
Acording to YourStory Research, in India, FAME II - the second phase of the government's Faster Adoption and Manufacturing Electric Vehicles scheme (FAME II) - will be implemented starting April with a increased outlay of Rs 10,000 crore to encourage the use of hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.
Through FAME, the government plans to subsidise the cost of electric and hybrid vehicles, while also enabling the nascent sector by setting up charging infrastructure. All these factors continue to enable the rise in electric vehicle adoption, with the global EV market expected to expand 8x between now and 2025.
Besides this, Xiaomi has been diversifying in India as well. For instance, Xiaomi's latest launch of the Mi LED Smart Bulb, which supports 16 million colours, goes on sale from today. With this the, Chinese major added a new category in its Indian catalogue besides shoes, sunglasses, blutooth speakers, selfie sticks, and of course smartphones.
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