After Xiaomi and Huawei, Oppo too is jumping into the automotive scene!

Another mobile company is looking to jump into the pool of the automotive business. This time it is Oppo that will be taking the dive. Word is that the company already has a division set up in Chengdu, China to develop their first autonomous vehicle.

But hold your horses, Oppo has yet to confirm the news due to China's tightening on smart technology business. However, the company’s CEO Tony Chen has previously expressed his deep desire for the company to move into the automotive space and excelling beyond other car companies as well. 

What is left to be decided is whether Oppo would like to take Xiaomi’s example and build their own car, or take Huawei’s example and acquire a company instead.

Chinese website XiuXiuShai reports that Chen, along with an army of Oppo heads, has already met with Tesla’s supplier and battery maker CATL.

Also read: Smartphone business declining so Huawei might be looking into building its first EV

Like we’ve mentioned earlier, Oppo looks to have already set up a division for their upcoming car. Amongst the first to join the new autonomous car development team was Eric Guo, who joined Oppo from the electric vehicle company Xpeng last year.

Oppo has also registered over 3,000 patents related to autonomous driving, or better known as self-driving cars. The patents are mostly equipment for autonomous driving such as radars, cameras, and sensors.

Also read: Smartphone margins too little, Xiaomi plans to make EVs

In case you didn’t know, Oppo is the second biggest smartphone manufacturer in China. In 2020, Oppo sold 112 million smartphones globally, making up 8 percent of the market share. Oppo is also the largest subsidiary owned by HW design company BKK.

BKK owns 3 other brands, OnePlus, Vivo, and Realme. In 2020, the company sold 262 million smartphones allowing it to solidify its status as the biggest smartphone manufacturer before Samsung and Huawei.