Apple vs. Xiaomi EV Pivot: Key FindingsApple spent $10 billion over 10 years and never shipped a car, while Xiaomi launched two EVs in under two years with profitability expected in 2025.Xiaomi secured nearly 300K preorders in one hour by pricing aggressively with active brand promotion.Apple failed due to secrecy, leadership shifts, and overengineering; Xiaomi succeeded by moving publicly, quickly, and with customer-aligned execution.How does a brand better known for budget phones and rice cookers end up beating Apple in a billion-dollar market pivot?Xiaomi, a Chinese tech corporation, did it in under two years.In 2021, the company, primarily known for smartphones, software, and consumer electronics, entered the electric vehicle (EV) space with a bold $10 billion investment.By Dec. 2023, its first EV launched and it secured nearly 300,000 preordersin one hour. Then, in June 2025, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun projected profitabilityin the second half of 2025.By contrast, Apple entered the EV market in 2014, also investing $10 billion over 10 years developing a car that never shipped.In 2024, its top-secret initiative, ‘Project Titan’, quietly folded, leaving behind internal shakeups, sunk costs, and no product to show.So what was Apple’s costly $10-billion mistake?It wasn’t a lack of capital, talent, or ambition. It was building in isolation — with no feedback, no public storytelling, and no alignment with market realities.This is the billion-dollar mistake brands must avoid when pivoting into new sectors.

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