Industry giants' covert battle over "People, Vehicles, and Homes"

Source: Home Appliance Network

Everything under heaven is driven by profit; everything under heaven is in motion for profit.

Public information: Recently, Gree Electric’s chairman Dong Mingzhu made a high-profile pickup of the Zeekr 009 Guanghui and said, “The world’s automobiles look to China, and China’s automobiles look to Geely.” Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, personally delivered the vehicle. Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiaomi held a press conference and officially released the new-generation Xiaomi SU7. At the conference, Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder, chairman, and CEO, said that the new-generation SU7 is unquestionably the “next-generation car for next-generation drivers.”

Putting aside the fact that Dong Mingzhu and Lei Jun once again simultaneously topped the news headlines, what is being signaled behind them is the future direction of China’s two major industries—home appliances and automobiles. In the wave of intelligentization and connectivity, the “people-vehicle-home” ecosystem has moved from concept to implementation, from technology demonstrations to large-scale applications. For this trend, each company has also made different choices.

Home-appliance giants are making frequent moves to position themselves

With a celebrity like Dong Mingzhu—always able to attract the spotlight—supporting Geely, her influence is naturally beyond doubt.

On a social media platform, Dong Mingzhu said: “Once you’ve ridden in it, you’ll decide to buy—there’s nothing else, just two words: peace of mind! Zeekr’s relentless pursuit of safety and quality is just like Gree’s. Isn’t this exactly the look of what Chinese manufacturing should be? From air conditioners to automobiles, from Gree to Zeekr, we all have a shared dream: to let the world see the confidence and strength of Chinese manufacturing!” After that, Yang Xueliang, senior vice president of Geely Group, publicly responded: “President Dong’s judgment is beyond question. Chinese entrepreneurs drive Chinese luxury cars—it’s a perfect match, with the right presence and right energy.”

In response, industry analysts believe that the interaction between the two sides is not simply a one-off celebrity endorsement and merchandise push, but rather recognition—and a potential alliance—between major traditional manufacturing giants based on shared values and strategic needs. The labels Dong Mingzhu emphasized—such as “peace of mind,” “quality,” and “China’s strength”—while giving support to Geely, also simultaneously reinforce Gree’s own recognition of quality.

From the perspective of future strategic considerations, analyses suggest that the two sides have enormous cooperation space in areas such as chips, car air conditioners, battery thermal management, intelligent equipment, and the “people-vehicle-home” ecosystem. Materials show that as early as 2019, Gree and Geely began cooperating. At that time, Gree provided systemized solutions for all of the smart factories and employees’ dormitories planned by Geely for 2019, as well as for all air-conditioner-using parts of the commercial supporting facilities. The mutual recognition released through this high-level interaction lays the trust foundation for the future progression—from supply-chain cooperation to deeper joint technological development and co-building of ecosystem standards.

In fact, strong alliances between home-appliance giants and automobile giants have already become an industry consensus. Last November, Midea Group and BYD officially signed the “People-Vehicle-Home Smart Ecosystem” strategic cooperation agreement, and both sides jointly build the “people-vehicle-home” smart ecosystem that leads the industry. In last July, Haier Group and Changan Automobile officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement, and both sides carried out comprehensive and in-depth strategic cooperation across multiple cutting-edge areas such as new energy, the supply chain, healthy living, and global brand building.

Xiaomi’s “people-vehicle-home ecosystem” closed-loop

Unlike Gree and others, Xiaomi chose a more independent and challenging path: personally entering the business of building cars, and working to construct an end-to-end closed loop across the full ecosystem from smartphones to cars to home appliances.

At the launch conference for the new-generation Xiaomi SU7, Lei Jun said that the first-generation Xiaomi SU7 had cumulatively delivered 381,000 units, and was the sedan sales champion in 2025 among models with sales of 200,000 units or more. Meanwhile, the number of orders for the new-generation SU7 has already exceeded 30,000. Since April 2024, Xiaomi Automobile has cumulatively delivered more than 6 million units.

Xiaomi’s automobile business has become the group’s new growth engine. In the third quarter of 2025, innovative businesses such as Xiaomi’s intelligent electric vehicles and AI achieved profitability for the first time. Single-quarter operating revenue was 700 million yuan, and revenue was 29 billion yuan RMB, up 199% year over year.

At the 2025 Xiaomi “people-vehicle-home full ecosystem” partner conference held at the end of last year, Xiaomi Group partner and group president Lu Weibing disclosed the latest progress of Xiaomi’s “people-vehicle-home full ecosystem.” Xiaomi’s global monthly active users reached 742 million, and the number of devices connected through Xiaomi’s AIoT platform reached 1.04 billion. At a recent global launch event in Barcelona, Spain, Lu Weibing also said that in 2025, Xiaomi has successfully built a full-ecosystem intelligent manufacturing system spanning from smartphones, to automobiles, to home appliances—becoming a company that enables the complete layout of the “people-vehicle-home full ecosystem.” Starting in 2026, Xiaomi will continue to increase investment intensity in key technologies. Over the next five years, it plans to invest more than 24 billion euros in R&D, bringing the “people-vehicle-home full ecosystem” to a new height.

Industry analysts believe the core of this strategy is that Xiaomi is trying to control the complete value chain—from chips, operating systems, and intelligent hardware to application services and even retail channels. Its goal is not only to sell hardware, but also to build a commercial ecosystem with high stickiness and network effects by unifying the user experience and continuously offering service subscriptions. A large user base and high engagement are the core barriers. They enable more efficient seamless coordination and data transfer among smartphones, cars, and home appliances. At the same time, Xiaomi’s experience in building ecosystems from smartphones to many smart devices allows it, in defining product interconnection experiences and operating user scenarios, to have a more user-oriented mindset and faster iteration than traditional automakers or home-appliance companies.

From the perspective of industry development, the traditional home-appliance market is becoming saturated and competition is converging toward homogenization, so companies urgently need to find new tracks. Intelligent electric vehicles are not only the next trillion-level market, but are also widely seen—after smartphones—as the most important intelligent terminals and mobile data entry points. For home-appliance companies, moving into the automobile track is both a natural path of technology transfer and ecosystem extension, and a strategic necessity to seize the core entry point of future intelligent living, extending business from static household scenarios to dynamic travel-and-commuting scenarios.

Industry analysts believe that looking ahead, the deep integration between the home-appliance and automobile industries will continue to deepen, and its path will take on a diversified, parallel pattern. No matter which path it is, the key lies in whether companies can truly break through the scenario and data barriers, and—through continuous technological iteration and ecosystem operations—provide users with seamless, intelligent, and secure integrated “people-vehicle-home” experiences. This integration will not only reshape the business map of relevant companies, but will also redefine the future forms of personal travel and home living.

(Home Appliance Network® HEA.CN)