Xiaomi's automotive division may be reinforcing its organizational structure with the reported addition of several former key executives from Tesla. Recent market information suggests that Kong Yanshuang, former General Manager of Tesla China, and Song Gang, former Vice President of Manufacturing at Tesla's Shanghai plant, are set to join Xiaomi Auto.
Public records indicate that both individuals were core talents at Tesla China. Kong Yanshuang had long been responsible for Tesla's sales network layout and brand promotion within the Chinese market, while Song Gang previously led the construction and production ramp-up of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory.
Analysis suggests that if the reports of Kong and Song joining Xiaomi Auto are confirmed, the company's sales and production systems could receive a significant boost, potentially leading to new breakthroughs in market expansion and manufacturing capacity enhancement.
Looking back at 2025, it was undoubtedly a landmark "bumper harvest" year in Xiaomi Auto's development history. During this period, Xiaomi Auto delivered 411,000 new vehicles for the full year, achieving a remarkable 200.4% year-over-year surge. This successfully drove a 221.8% increase in revenue for its intelligent electric vehicle business, reaching 103.3 billion yuan.
For 2026, Lei Jun has set an ambitious target of 550,000 vehicle deliveries for Xiaomi Auto. However, based on the cumulative deliveries of over 79,000 units in the first quarter, achieving this goal would require average monthly deliveries of approximately 52,000 for the remainder of the year. Notably, Xiaomi Auto only surpassed the 50,000 monthly delivery mark once in the previous year, during December.
Recent reports indicate that Kong Yanshuang joined Xiaomi in early March, taking over automotive sales responsibilities from former Xiaomi Auto Director Li Xiaorui. Kong is currently in a transition period, and Xiaomi has not yet formally announced her specific position.
According to reports, another individual with a Tesla background, known as "Eason," joined Xiaomi around the same time as Kong, assuming a role within the Xiaomi Auto Department's "political commissar" structure, also part of the company's参谋部, or strategy department. The Xiaomi Group参谋部 is a core department assisting the CEO in formulating and supervising group development strategy, holding significant importance within the company. An insider suggested that direct entry into the参谋部 is uncommon, highlighting the individual's capabilities.
Separate reports indicate that Song Gang, a key figure in the construction and production ramp-up of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory and former Vice President of Manufacturing there, is also poised to join Xiaomi Auto. Public information shows Song previously worked at General Motors and Ford before joining Tesla in 2018. On his LinkedIn profile, Song identified himself as the first employee of the Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory, involved in building what were ranked as top global vehicle, battery, and drive unit factories. Song left Tesla in December 2024 and shortly after joined Envision Energy as Senior Vice President of Integrated Supply Chain.
An informed source suggested that upon joining Xiaomi Auto, Song "may take a plant manager role, partnering with existing plant manager Ji Guowei. The plant manager is a crucial experienced position, given the large number of employees and significant management responsibilities at Xiaomi's auto factory." Analysts believe Song's extensive experience at the Tesla Shanghai plant has equipped him with an efficient manufacturing methodology covering supply chain management, production line optimization, and quality control, which could strongly support Xiaomi Auto's efforts towards high-efficiency, high-quality mass production and delivery.
The recent flurry of hiring news comes as Xiaomi Auto, despite past "sales miracles," faces considerable sales pressure. Delivery figures for the first three months of this year show over 39,000 vehicles in January, over 20,000 in February, and over 20,000 in March, resulting in Q1 cumulative deliveries exceeding 79,000 units. Compared to the approximately 76,000 deliveries in the same period last year, the growth is not particularly pronounced.
A rough estimate based on the lower end of Xiaomi's disclosed monthly deliveries indicates that to achieve the annual target of 550,000 units, average monthly deliveries must exceed 52,000 for the remaining three quarters of 2026. Currently, surpassing the 50,000 monthly delivery mark remains a significant challenge, with subsequent capacity increases and market expansion tasks still considerable.
However, considering that Q1 coincided with the transition period between the old and new generations of the Xiaomi SU7, subsequent sales may see an uptick. The new generation Xiaomi SU7 began deliveries on March 23 this year. On April 1, Xiaomi Auto announced its latest monthly delivery figures: over 20,000 vehicles delivered in March, with the new SU7 accounting for 7,000 units. During a live stream disassembling the new SU7 on April 2, Lei Jun revealed that locked-in orders for the new model had exceeded 40,000 units.
Nevertheless, compared to the initial SU7 launch at the end of March 2024, this figure does not represent stunning growth. At that time, on April 3, 2024, Lei Jun announced during a delivery ceremony at the Beijing Xiaomi Auto factory store that firm orders for the SU7 had exceeded 100,000, with locked-in orders surpassing 40,000.
A Xiaomi Auto employee revealed that the company's retail system was planned from the outset with reference to the Tesla model. Currently, a significant proportion of provincial company heads and regional managers have Tesla backgrounds. Reportedly, Xiaomi's previous channel model was "1+N," where "1" refers to self-built and self-operated delivery centers handling sales and after-sales service, and "N" represents authorized sales and user service touchpoints.
A major Xiaomi dealer stated that over the past two years, Xiaomi Auto focused more on product and brand building, somewhat neglecting the individual value of frontline sales. Since individuals from Tesla joined starting last November, there has been increased emphasis on process, data, and management of people, inventory, and locations, leading to noticeable improvements in frontline sales capabilities. The dealer suggested that Xiaomi Auto orders are no longer coming in an "explosive" pattern, necessitating strengthened sales team capabilities for a steady sales period. Tesla's systematic and structured approach to talent development is seen as well-suited to Xiaomi's current needs.
Beyond sales efforts, to support the 550,000-unit annual target, Xiaomi Auto is also accelerating its production capacity plans. An informed source indicated, "Xiaomi Auto already has two factories in Beijing—one operational and one awaiting permits—with a third planned." Reports suggest the total designed capacity of Xiaomi's Beijing plants has reached 450,000 units. The Phase I and II plants, operating at full capacity, have an annual output of about 300,000 to 330,000 vehicles. The Beijing Phase III plant commenced operations after the Spring Festival in 2026, with a designed annual capacity of 150,000 units. Additionally, Xiaomi's Wuhan plant is scheduled to begin production in May 2026, with an annual capacity of 150,000 units.
In the early stages of preparation and establishment, Xiaomi Auto's core team primarily consisted of internal Xiaomi骨干 and executives from traditional automakers. In March 2021, during a product launch event, Lei Jun officially announced Xiaomi's entry into the intelligent electric vehicle sector, calling it his last major entrepreneurial project. Xiaomi Auto Co., Ltd. was registered in September 2021, with Lei Jun serving as executive director and manager, underscoring the importance placed on the automotive business.
From April to September 2021, Xiaomi formed a several-hundred-person automotive team for market research and supply chain evaluation, simultaneously establishing a preparation group. Key figures included Li Xiaoshuai, then General Manager of Xiaomi's Major Appliances Division, responsible for vehicle, supply chain, and factory preparation; Yu Kai, then Deputy Chief of Staff, overseeing smart cabin preparation; and Ye Hangjun, Chairman of the Technology Committee, handling autonomous driving preparation.
A year later, product department responsibilities under Li Xiaoshuai were transferred to Yu Liguo, who previously held a long-term position at BAIC Group, including President of the Arcfox brand. Yu Liguo joined Xiaomi Auto in the second half of 2021. He later became Vice President of Xiaomi Auto and Political Commissar of the Beijing headquarters, overseeing comprehensive management, special projects, and organizational development.
During this period, Xiaomi Auto actively recruited talented executives from traditional automakers. For instance, Hu Zheng-nan, former President of Geely's Research Institute, participated as a senior advisor responsible for vehicle engineering. In August 2022, Zhou Xing, former Deputy General Manager of SAIC-GM-Wuling's Sales Company, joined as marketing head. In May 2023, Wen Fei, former CEO of the Salon brand under Great Wall Motors, joined Xiaomi Auto, succeeding Zhou Xing as marketing head. In June 2023, Huang Zhenyu, Vice President of the Automotive Department, also assumed the role of General Manager of the Supply Chain Department, having previously been Vice President of Magna China.
In early 2025, Xiaomi Auto underwent further personnel adjustments: Vice President Yu Liguo took charge of the Intelligent Manufacturing Department, factories, and system operations; Vice President Huang Zhenyu continued leading the Supply Chain and Quality Departments; and Yu Kai, previously responsible for smart cabin preparation, became General Manager of the Product Department.
The question remains whether the potential addition of these Tesla veterans will enable Xiaomi Auto to successfully achieve its full-year sales target of 550,000 vehicles.
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