328: Chapter 328 Lei Jun Wins: Strategically Ahead of Shenyang Aircraft Corporation

Looking at the strategic plan behind Lei Jun, Lin Bin finally fulfilled his role as a co-founder taking the fall.

"General Manager Lei, this meeting was called today to discuss one thing: what path should Xiaomi take next?"

"Speaking of the mobile phone business, I can say responsibly that we no longer have any advantage in the domestic market."

"Shen Fei and Big Mouth Yu have already occupied the high, middle, and low-end markets. We have no competitiveness online, and we don't have the money for offline."

"I suggest we shrink the mobile phone business and fully transition to smart home appliances."

He then pointed to the "People, Car, Home" ecosystem chain behind Lei Jun.

But Li Wanqiang shook his head. He hadn't been optimistic about this plan at the last meeting, and he hadn't expected them to actually take this step this time.

"General Manager Lei, General Manager Lin, we are a mobile phone company, not a department store."

"If we don't make our phones well and instead turn to making rice cookers and air fryers, what will the investors think? What will the Mi Fans think?"

In truth, what Li Wanqiang didn't say was that while smart home appliances are called 'smart,' the technical content... it's simple if you say it's simple; the basic entry is easy. But if you call it complex, making it user-friendly is very difficult.

Liu De, caught in the middle, said something that didn't commit to either side: "We can't give up on mobile phones, and we must do smart home appliances too."

"The problem is that resources are limited; which one should we do first?"

The mobile phone faction and the smart home faction formed two opposing sides in the conference room. Both sides thought the other's path wouldn't work, and the tone became subtle.

Hong Feng, the system developer and the main person in charge of the upcoming linkage, flipped through the data in front of him and said something that made everyone calm down.

"The initial sales volume of the Xiaomi 4 is less than one-fifth of the honor 6."

"Everyone, what reason do we have to continue burning money on mobile phones?"

Everyone opened their mouths, then looked at the number Hong Feng had brought up.

They knew very clearly! This number was hopeless.

"A main brand like Xiaomi Company can't outsell someone else's sub-brand, and it's even being crushed by a wide margin. What is there left to play for?"

The atmosphere in the conference room was very subtle; almost everyone was sighing.

Lei Jun had been silent the whole time. He listened to everyone's remarks, and his expression showed no complex changes. Seeing the atmosphere was very subtle, he finally spoke.

"We will not give up on the mobile phone business, so don't worry that the Mi Fans will give up on us. Mobile phones will always be our greatest confidence and source of users."

After finishing, Lei Jun stood up from his seat again, walked to the PPT, and tapped on the "People, Car, Home" strategy with a small stick in his hand.

"Compared to the mobile phone plus smart home discussion from the last meeting, this time I have a plan with a clearer direction."

The PPT on the screen changed once again: Dami Auto, Xiaomi smart home, Xiaomi mobile phones.

When this complete PPT appeared, several executives looked at each other, and everyone's face was filled with disbelief.

Especially the car!

In their imagination, it should have been cooperating with other car companies to build a better in-vehicle system, with Xiaomi collecting corresponding maintenance fees.

But what Lei Jun was referring to now was...

Lin Bin was the first to react; this was the first time he had resolutely opposed Lei Jun's decision.

"General Manager Lei, are you saying... building cars?"

"I disagree, I absolutely disagree!"

The other executives also turned into bobbleheads just like Lin Bin, shaking their heads frantically.

But Lei Jun looked at everyone present and waved his hand.

"Transsion has cars, and Apple is rumored to be building cars too. Based on Transsion's route, we can see that the car will be the next largest smart terminal."

"It's bigger than a phone, bigger than a TV, and bigger than any smart home device."

"If we only make rice cookers and air purifiers, it will always be small-time."

No one spoke. Lin Bin's hand stopped in mid-air, but the refusal in his eyes had diminished a lot.

Li Wanqiang's brows were still knotted, like two little black and white men fighting non-stop.

Hong Feng, the system developer, didn't say a word, bowing his head and writing back and forth in his notebook, but he hadn't written a single word in it.

Lei Jun's hand remained on the whiteboard, and the word "Car" in "Dami Auto" was circled again.

He looked at that circle as if he were playing a very big game of chess, or drawing a very big pie.

Everyone looked at each other for a while, and it was still Lin Bin who stood up first.

"General Manager Lei, cars are a heavy-asset industry."

"If you throw tens of billions in, you won't even see a splash."

"We only have a few billion on our books right now, and we still have to maintain operations for mobile phones and smart home appliances; where would we get the money to build cars?"

Following the Vice General Manager's outburst, the other veterans followed suit in unison.

Li Wanqiang: "General Manager Lei, facts have proven that we cannot imitate Transsion."

"They can build cars because they have the technology, the money, and the supply chain."

"We cannot blindly follow just because of a big promise."

"Building cars is not like building phones; there are too many barriers. Even if we invest 50 billion, it's not certain we can achieve mass production."

Liu De said it more bluntly:

"General Manager Lei, it's not that we brothers don't support you."

"We really have no money left. The mobile phone business is losing money, and investors are already a bit worried. Now you mention building cars; won't they think we are spending money recklessly?"

Several co-founders were speaking, but not one person supported him.

And the central idea was: no money, no technology, no brand... they had brand appeal, but they didn't have a car manufacturing license.

So it could still be called a 'three-no' plan.

Lin Bin and the other co-founders looked at Lei Jun, who didn't say a word, and felt a bit panicked.

But Lei Jun's attitude had changed.

The originally firm 'building cars' now had a big question mark written after it.

"Why does Transsion build cars? It's not to make money selling cars; it's to sell batteries. Their High-density battery is indeed leading the way, and many companies are already purchasing it."

"Their car is a gimmick, but in my opinion, it is a smart entry point."

"People, Car, Home; a trinity that locks users into the ecosystem."

"Xiaomi has mobile phones now, and will have smart home appliances next, but it is missing the car link."

"If Xiaomi can produce a car, even if it's just a concept, just a gimmick, it can make the capital market believe in Xiaomi Company again, and we can inflate our valuation even higher."

At this moment, Lei Jun still confidently believed that Shen Fei was only building cars to create a gimmick and sell their High-density battery and ADS system.

"After all, building cars is hard work; how can it compare to the profit of selling equipment?"

He was still strategically ahead of Shen Fei and ahead of all mobile phone manufacturers in China.

But what he didn't know was... the "People, Car, Home" strategy had been fully planned when the Transsion Auto project was launched, and smart home appliances were also being developed simultaneously.

It wasn't that they weren't releasing them; it was that they were waiting until they were ready. They absolutely could not be like the Xiaomi home appliances of his past life—while cheap, they had many problems.

"Old Lei, are you saying... building cars is just a story?"