Xiaomi

This will help Xiaomi supplement its lineup of team leaders for various modules of self-driving technology, potentially laying the foundation for the development of self-driving technology for Xiaomi cars.

Xiaomi, the smartphone giant that announced this year that it was jumping on the car-making bandwagon, is increasing its technological presence in the automotive field.

Nio China is headquartered in Hefei, the hometown of founder William Li and a city that saved the company from a funding crisis last year and has received a huge return on its investment as a result.

Battery swap was questionable as a huge investment model a few years ago, but with encouragement from the Chinese government, more and more players are adopting it.

Xiaomi is hiring for a number of self-driving-related positions, hinting that the smartphone giant may locate its R&D center in Beijing.

Lei Jun, chairman of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, visited the research and development center of carmaker Great Wall Motor.

"The point is that the three years you are prepared to invest cannot be bought with money. Losing RMB 5 billion may not be a big deal if the strategy is going in the wrong direction, but losing three years of time is significant."

Xiaomi has tried to poach Hu Zhengnan, director of the automaker Geely Research Institute, with a salary of up to RMB 1 billion ($156.37 million), including equity incentives.

On April 6, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun launched a poll on Weibo asking fans whether the Xiaomi car business should use the Xiaomi brand. The vast majority of participants chose to use the brand.

Xiaomi's car seems to be a little further away from hitting the road than expected.