When will we drive Xiaomi, Sony, Samsung or Apple electric cars?

The first to cross the line in the launch car market was Huawei, which presented the first fully electric sports car Aito M5 last year, and after photos of its prototype leaked into the public space recently, Xiaomi no longer hides its plans to catch up with its competitors next year with the electric car MS11 Tim Cook, head of Apple, has already spoken about similar intentions several times.

ALSO READ: Analysts predict that these companies will soon be joined by more giants of the technology market, for whom this will probably be the only way to maintain their leadership, even if the previous attempts of some of them ended in failure "About five years ago, we would never have dreamed that Xiaomi or Apple could somehow compete with Volkswagen or Tesla.

However, according to the latest calculations of the international market analysis company IDC, the "bread" of these companies for the sales of former smartphones in 2022 after reaching from 2013 an unseen low, this scenario becomes even more likely.

Technology giants are being pushed into the car market by the accelerating electrification of transport and changed consumer priorities This product is also viewed as another opportunity to "lock" customers into its ecosystem," says Telia's smart devices expert Simon Tilindis.

According to S Tilindis, the current scale of transformation of the transport industry can be compared to the transition from horses to cars that took place about a hundred years ago.

With sales of electric cars growing at an impressive rate and last year in Europe increasing by around 20 percent aiming for new car market share, The European Parliament recently signed a verdict on internal combustion engines.

From 2035 legislation coming into effect will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars across the EU "While many consumers are holding in their hands the fifth or sixth smartphone they have ever purchased and are not thinking too much about buying a new one due to the slow progress, the mood in the electric car market is quite different.

In the coming years, millions of people in Europe and around the world will one way or another be forced to buy their first electric car, opening up a huge and saturated market for technology companies It is seen as a great opportunity to compensate for slowing electronics sales," the interviewer explains.

Of course, the old giants of the car market do not want to miss this historic opportunity either announcing ambitious plans to electrify their model line long before the aforementioned bans took effect.

However, it is favorable for new players that in the era of electrification, the experience of internal combustion engines accumulated in recent decades is no longer relevant and all brands seem to stand at the starting line again in the eyes of consumers This is perfectly proven by Tesla, which is only 20 years old, and is currently the leader in electric car sales and has managed to overtake Toyota in a record time, taking over the title of the most valuable company in the automotive industry.

Telia's smart device expert says that last fall, Huawei took a firm step into the electric car market with the launch of the first fully electric sports car, the Aito M5, together with the Chinese car manufacturer Seres And interestingly, that this product was not just a high-profile PR project - the telecommunications giant from the east was developing not only the information system of the car, but also such a critical component as electric motors.

Such active movements in this market even made Samsung, which sold its car division to the Renault group at the end of the last century, during the Asian financial crisis, to rethink the development of its own car Telia's representative emphasizes another trend in the electric car market favorable to technology companies - the changed priorities of consumers.

If in the past car manufacturers emphasized dynamics, good handling characteristics or assembly quality in advertisements, today all the mentioned aspects are pushed into the background by the amount of electronic driving assistants, information system capabilities and various smart functions "Drivers look at the modern car as a big computer on wheels, the goodness of which is measured by how much it can facilitate the driving process and how conveniently it allows you to use the various functions of your smartphone.

Naturally, companies such as Apple, Google or Xiaomi, with more experience in hardware and software development, will find it much easier to meet the aforementioned consumer needs than Volkswagen or Toyota, the characteristics of a changing market reveals S Tilindis.

It is very likely that self-driving technology will improve significantly as the big tech companies enter the car market For example, the Afeela car prototype of Sony and Honda presented at this year's CES exhibition is equipped with as many as 45 sensors necessary for autonomous driving.

and the data they collect is processed by a super-powerful Snapdragon chip, akin to the chips that power many high-end Android flagships Owning an electric car is also a good opportunity for technology companies to bind customers even more tightly to their products.

Both Xiaomi and Apple produce a wide range of products, including computers, smart watches, phones, headphones and even digital services By using them together, the user gets a better experience than if he chooses products from different companies, which kind of squeezes him into the framework of one brand and thus generates a lot of additional profit for the companies.

"With an Apple smartphone, it's very hard to find an argument for choosing a tablet other than the iPad, knowing that it will allow you to conveniently reply to messages on your phone, continue what you started on your iPhone and share files more easily So there is almost no doubt that iPhone owners will be able to manage and operate an Apple car more easily than, for example, owners of Sony or Xiaomi smartphones, and vice versa.

And where else are there opportunities to offer more convenient door unlocking or starting after purchasing a smart watch Such an expensive electric car will make it even more difficult for the consumer to switch to another manufacturer's production and lock it even more tightly in the "golden cage" of one company, the expert explains the reasons for the release of the car.

It is true that the favorable situation in the car market for technology companies does not mean that they do not experience various challenges related to the product of a completely new category Xiaomi, which intends to introduce an electric car at the earliest, will start producing it only next year and will initially offer it only in the Chinese market.

where the requirements for vehicles are much lower than in the West The situation is similar with other electronics manufacturers on this continent - Oppo, which has sent signals about the delivery of an electric car, intends to launch in India next year.

At that time, the Apple car project is hidden under nine locks, which has lured many engineers from the car industry giants, has been in development for almost a decade, but still does not see the light at the end of the tunnel So, according to Telia's smart devices expert, we will have to wait at least three to four more years for cars marked with Apple, Xiaomi, Sony, Huawei or Oppo badges in our country.

The situation is similar with other electronics manufacturers on this continent - Oppo, which has sent signals about the delivery of an electric car, intends to launch in India next year At that time, the Apple car project is hidden under nine locks, which has lured many engineers from the car industry giants, has been in development for almost a decade, but still does not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, according to Telia's smart devices expert, we will have to wait at least three to four more years for cars marked with Apple, Xiaomi, Sony, Huawei or Oppo badges in our country The situation is similar with other electronics manufacturers on this continent - Oppo, which has sent signals about the delivery of an electric car, intends to launch in India next year.

At that time, the Apple car project is hidden under nine locks, which has lured many engineers from the car industry giants, has been in development for almost a decade, but still does not see the light at the end of the tunnel So, according to Telia's smart devices expert, we will have to wait at least three to four more years for cars marked with Apple, Xiaomi, Sony, Huawei or Oppo badges in our country.

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