A little over a decade after founding Xiaomi as an Apple copycat, Lei Jun has finally upstaged his Silicon Valley rival.
While Apple this year quietly abandoned a decade-long, multibillion-dollar project to build an electric vehicle, the Chinese group now has EVs rolling off Beijing production lines every couple of minutes.
Lei’s marketing flair and penchant for turning ideas into products has earned comparisons with Steve Jobs for Xiaomi’s chief executive and chair, and the moniker “Lei Jobs” in China. Last week, he took to a Beijing stage in a teal blazer to gush over his triumph of making a car just three years after unveiling his ambition.