There is an entrepreneur in China who started by selling smartphones online, built one of the most loyal fanbases in tech history, and then decided to make electric cars. His name is Lei Jun, and if you follow the Chinese market at all, you have probably heard of him. This article will catch you up fast.
Who Is Lei Jun?
Before Xiaomi, Lei Jun already had two major companies under his belt. He ran UCWEB, the leading mobile web browser in China, and Kingsoft, one of the biggest desktop software companies in the country. Think of Kingsoft as China’s answer to Microsoft Office.
In 2010, Lei Jun decided to enter the smartphone market. He launched Xiaomi, which means “little rice” in Chinese. The name sounds humble. The ambition was not. Chinese media quickly started comparing him to Steve Jobs.
How Xiaomi Grew So Fast
In the early days, Xiaomi sold its phones only online and only in flash sales. You had to register in advance, then compete against thousands of other buyers to get one. The first Xiaomi 1S release sold 200,000 units in under 30 minutes. That was not an accident. It was a strategy.
The scarcity model created buzz. People felt they were getting access to something exclusive, even though the price was low. Xiaomi was targeting young, tech-savvy Chinese consumers who wanted premium specs without paying Apple prices. That understanding of Chinese consumer behavior was central to everything Xiaomi did.
The real engine was community. Before the first phone was even built, Xiaomi spent months building an online community around its custom Android skin, called MIUI. Early users helped test the software, reported bugs, and suggested features. Every Friday, Xiaomi released a new update based on user feedback. The community felt like co-creators, not just customers.
Today, Lei Jun has over 23 million followers on Weibo and nearly 36 million on Douyin. One of his two-hour livestreams drew 34 million viewers. For context, that is more people than watch the Super Bowl.
Xiaomi’s Marketing Playbook in China
Xiaomi’s core idea is simple: reduce traditional advertising spend, and replace it with community content and word-of-mouth. Xiaomi historically spent very little on TV ads or billboards. Instead, it invested in social media, forums, and KOL marketing. If you want to understand how this works, our guide on KOL marketing in China gives a full breakdown.
Xiaomi uses each platform for a different purpose: Weibo for announcements and emotional storytelling, Douyin for short-form video and direct sales through livestreams, WeChat for customer service and loyalty, and Xiaohongshu for lifestyle content and authentic reviews.
From Phones to Everything: The Xiaomi Ecosystem
Xiaomi built an entire ecosystem of connected devices: TVs, air purifiers, rice cookers, electric scooters, smart home products. All of them connect through one app. Think of it like the Apple ecosystem, but designed for a market that is more price-sensitive. By 2025, Xiaomi’s IoT and smart home business generated over RMB 120 billion in revenue, up 18.3% year on year.
What Has Changed in 2026
Record Revenue in 2025
Xiaomi reported full-year 2025 revenue of RMB 457.3 billion, an increase of 25% compared to 2024. Adjusted net profit reached RMB 39.2 billion, up 44%. These are not startup numbers. This is a company the size of a major European industrial group.
The Electric Car Nobody Expected
In March 2024, Xiaomi launched the SU7, a fully electric sedan. Within 24 hours of opening orders, hundreds of thousands of people had placed deposits. By the end of 2025, Xiaomi had delivered 411,082 electric vehicles, beating its own target of 400,000 units. Xiaomi’s EV and AI segment generated RMB 106.1 billion in revenue in 2025, a 223.8% increase. For 2026, Xiaomi has set a target of 550,000 vehicle deliveries.
European Expansion
In 2025, Xiaomi’s large home appliances officially entered the European market, covering Spain, France, Germany, and Italy. Global monthly active users hit 750 million, up 7.4% year on year. Xiaomi is no longer a China story. It is a global story.
What This Means for Your Brand
- Community before advertising. Xiaomi built its audience before it had a product. Building a real community on Weibo, Douyin, or Xiaohongshu first is cheaper and more durable. Our Xiaohongshu marketing guide shows you how to start.
- Put a real person at the front. Chinese consumers respond to founders and leaders who show up. A faceless brand logo does not create trust.
- Price positioning is a real decision. Xiaomi succeeded by being clear about what it stood for: the best specs at a fair price. Your brand needs the same clarity.
- Ecosystems win long-term. If your product can connect to others or become part of a broader lifestyle, that creates retention that a single product never can.
