“The Relentless Work Ethic of Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun: A Tireless Leader Setting the Pace”

Xiaopeng Motors (XPeng) Chairman and CEO, He Xiaopeng, shared a video on Weibo, in which he once again mentioned his “brother, teacher, and friend” – Xiaomi’s founder, Chairman, and CEO, Lei Jun.

He Xiaopeng joked, “Many people think I am very hard-working, but you know, I am quite close to Lei Jun. I have told him a few times: ‘You work too hard; you are tiring us out!'”

In the video, He Xiaopeng also discussed the development of autonomous driving technology in Europe. He suggested that autonomous driving there “will be a bit slower” because the roads in China and the US are built in a more grid-like fashion, making it easier to drive. In contrast, Europe has many small alleys and lanes, making driving more challenging, and thus, the development of autonomous driving will lag a few years behind China and the US. He predicted that by the end of 2025 or 2026, despite permissive policies and stable technology, there would still be challenges to perfect autonomous driving capabilities in Europe’s small alleys and lanes.

Back in August, He Xiaopeng described Lei Jun as his “brother, teacher, and friend” when the latter visited XPeng’s headquarters. And in April this year, when commenting on the popularity of Xiaomi’s SU7 model, He Xiaopeng acknowledged, “Lei Jun’s marketing capabilities are stronger than mine, but I need to outperform him in technology.”

In an interview last December, He Xiaopeng shared that there is a joke that if you want to ‘harm’ a friend, you say: ‘Brother, let’s start a car company together.’ When asked if Lei Jun was ‘harmed’ by him into making cars, He Xiaopeng repeatedly waved his hands and said, “No, no.”