When Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched its first electric vehicle (EV) in March 2024, few believed it could rival industry leaders like Tesla, BYD, Xpeng and Li Auto. After a surprisingly strong debut and with the company’s EV segment poised to break even this year, however, the Beijing-based firm is now embarking on an ambitious push into another sector to challenge established competitors: the home appliances market. Partly fuelled by Beijing’s aggressive subsidies to boost consumption,...