Xiaomi’s EV ambition masks worker burnout and operational risks

The drive to put Xiaomi into the electric vehicle arena has come with a cost carried by people whose names are never mentioned at product launches.

One of those people was Wang Peizhi, a 34-year-old employee responsible for transforming smartphone retail stores into spaces capable of displaying full-size sedans.

Months before he collapsed in a grocery store while shopping with his young son, he had been staying up through the night preparing Xiaomi’s flagship showroom for the debut of the SU7 sedan.

This story is based on internal documents, WeChat messages, and interviews shared with Bloomberg News.

Retail overhaul drives extreme workloads

Wang had worked at Xiaomi during the years when co-founder Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi would become the first major tech company to enter car manufacturing. Lei called it his “last entrepreneurial project.”

The plan required not only building a car, but also reworking Xiaomi’s nationwide retail network, so stores originally designed for phones and laptops had to be converted into auto showrooms.

During the pandemic, Xiaomi cut roughly half of the staff responsible for this transformation, so around 10 people were left to carry out the work. By early 2024, the workload had surged, and Wang was allegedly responsible for at least 267 store renovations in the first eight months of the year.

Wang also took on some of the company’s most high-profile projects, including a store near Tiananmen Square, while still handling smaller locations, reviewing site layouts, checked supplier progress, handled renovation issues, and coordinated opening schedules.

Bloomberg’s report claimed that Wang pushed himself because he did not want to leave tasks undone, and also said there were simply not enough workers left to share the load.

Wang earned about 600,000 yuan ($84,000) per year, including stock options, his widow Luna Liu said.

But she said he lived under constant pressure created by tight timelines and demands from upper management.

Many people in China’s tech industry have allegedly described similar work expectations. Long hours, including the practice known as “996” (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week) continue across many major companies, according to Bloomberg.

SU7 launch accelerates demands

Two months before Xiaomi introduced the SU7, Wang’s workload intensified. He sent messages from early morning through late night, sometimes around 2:30 a.m., asking about installation of mirrors or requesting suppliers to finish jobs faster. Liu said he once told her he felt like a spinning top, working the roles of “seven or eight people.” She said that although he came home each day, she sometimes felt she had not actually seen him in days.

After the Lunar New Year, Wang was deeply involved in getting the Beijing flagship store operational. Documents show him sharing hundreds of photos and messages with colleagues about lighting systems, floor reinforcement, charging poles, and display adjustments. When company president Lu Weibing announced on social media that he would visit the store the next morning, Wang wrote, “Tomorrow decides everything.”

The SU7 was priced at around 215,900 yuan, lower than models like the BYD Han L and the Tesla Model 3, and the design resembled the Porsche Taycan at a fraction of the price.

After launch in March, Xiaomi’s stock price saw a 200% rally in Hong Kong, and the company set a delivery goal of 350,000 units for 2025.

By comparison, BYD sold about 4.3 million EVs and hybrids last year, and Tesla sold roughly 1.8 million vehicles worldwide, so Xiaomi is actually still far from catching up.

In August, Wang traveled to stores in Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, and Tianjin. Only two coworkers were assigned to assist him across these responsibilities. On August 22, he felt weak and went to the hospital for tests.

While there, he still received messages from multiple store teams asking for updates. A manager in Shenyang responded to Wang saying he was sick by texting, “Xiaomi’s employees are all warriors,” along with a crying emoji.

Later that day, while at a grocery store with his son, his heart stopped. He was taken to intensive care. Less than three days later, he died. His death certificate listed acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. Liu said he had no known medical problems and maintained an active lifestyle, including regular running and weekend hikes.

Liu told the company she believed overwork caused his death. Local authorities ruled it was not considered work-related under national rules that require the death to occur within 48 hours of treatment for a work injury.

The company later offered a hardship payment of 50,000 yuan, though Liu said none of it was paid. She also said some of Wang’s stock options were rescinded.

One of Wang’s last messages to a contractor read: “What I signed up for was a life or death commitment. Don’t leave me hanging.”

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