Xiaomi to enter EV sector

Xiaomi will become the latest Chinese tech giant to enter the electric vehicle business, the company said in a filing on Tuesday.

The company said it would set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to operate the new venture.

"The initial phase of investment will be RMB10bn, with the total investment amount over the course of the next 10 years estimated to be $10bn. Mr. Lei Jun, the Chief Executive Officer of the Group, will concurrently serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the smart electric vehicle business," the company said in the statement.

It was unclear from the filing whether Xiaomi would sell cars under its own household brand and contract manufacturers to take care of production.

Xiaomi was following in the steps of Baidu which had partnered with automaker Geely to make its own brand of EVs.