Unveiling the truth behind dreame's car manufacturing: Are 24 Months Enough?

Yu Hao, the founder of Dreame Technology, has officially realized his dream of car manufacturing. As time goes by, more and more information about Dreame's car manufacturing is emerging.

Dreametech's foray into car manufacturing has gained significant attention not only because it's a tech company's cross-industry venture, but also due to its very distinctive goal: benchmarking against Bugatti.

The shocking aspect of Dreame's venture into car manufacturing lies not in the emotional resonance of the public stifling Yu Hao's automotive dreams, but in its exceptionally strong execution in car manufacturing. Information indicates that by 2027, Dreame will have at least one passenger car and one RV product launched, both targeting overseas markets.

Moving forward, the shock factor is taken to the next level. Dreame's car manufacturing not only aims high with precise and decisive execution but also strives to achieve boundarylessness. According to media reports, Dreame's automotive business unit is planning five major product lines: S, A, B, C, and D, covering everything from large to small and high to low, almost achieving full coverage of car categories and price ranges.

Whether it is a fast and accurate goal or a comprehensive and thorough plan, speed is the easiest metric to verify and also the easiest bubble to debunk. Whether Chasing can "build the fastest car in the world" has less than 24 months left to be answered.

From vacuum cleaner motor to supercar dream

On August 28, Dreame Technology announced its entry into the new energy vehicle industry. Its first product is positioned as an ultra-luxury pure electric model, benchmarked against the Bugatti Veyron, and is scheduled to debut in 2027. The company boldly declared its intention to create "the fastest car in the world."

What is little known is that this seemingly abrupt cross-industry decision was foreshadowed twelve years ago.

In 2013, when Yu Hao was leading a team to develop aircraft at Tsinghua University's "Sky Workshop," he had already drafted his first car-making plan. As one of China's earliest developers of quadcopters and the inventor of the tricopter, it seems he was destined to showcase his talents in the field of mobile carriers from that time.

After Dreame Technology was founded in 2017, Yu Hao temporarily shelved his ambition to build cars and instead focused on the smart cleaning track. The accumulation of a series of core patents in high-speed digital motors, intelligent algorithms, and fluid mechanics won Dreame a ticket to the Xiaomi ecosystem and quietly built a technical foundation for future car manufacturing.

Image source: Dreame Technology

In 2024, the first rumors emerged about Dreame venturing into car manufacturing, with plans for its first model to be a range-extended SUV, anticipated for mass production and market release in 2027. This relatively pragmatic choice stands in stark contrast to the ultra-luxury all-electric route officially announced a year later, reflecting a strategic indecision in market positioning by the decision-makers.

In January 2025, Dreame registered the establishment of its car-making entity, Xingkong Project (Shanghai) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xingkong Project"), with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan. Yu Hao, through a multi-layered shareholding structure, effectively controls 80% of the equity, injecting a strong personal will into this project. The factory's location in the Lingang New Area of Shanghai is also significant, as it is adjacent to the production bases of Tesla and CATL, allowing it to enjoy the benefits of industrial clustering.

From being an OEM for Xiaomi to creating its own brand, and now venturing into car manufacturing, Dreame's development trajectory clearly showcases the growing ambition of a tech company. In an internal letter, Dreame stated, "In China, we have become the absolute leader in the cleaning sector; globally, we hold the market's top position in more than 20 countries and regions."

Such achievements provide the confidence to venture into car manufacturing. The internal letter from Dreame states, "After twelve years of reaching the pinnacle in the cleaning industry, we are ushering in a 'timely opportunity'," which reflects both confidence in years of accumulated strength and an implicit judgment on market trends.

In addition to benchmarking supercars, Dreame also plans for RVs. According to public information, Starry Dream House is an RV company associated with the Starry Project. The plan for Starry Dream House is equally confident, with the first concept car expected to debut by the end of 2025, and the development of a fully functional prototype completed. In 2026, the first mass-produced product will be officially launched to the market. By 2027, the company aims to enter the global market with a diverse product line.

Is 24 months enough to build a car?

Although the car manufacturing information was announced in 2025, the implementation of the car manufacturing plan by Dreame is not considered late.

In October 2014, information revealed that Dream Technology's car manufacturing project already had a team of about 200 people. The planned range-extended product was in the demo stage, and there were plans for future new cars to be exported to Europe.

According to the recruitment platform, as early as December 2024, Dreame began hiring autonomous driving algorithm engineers with a salary offering of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan per month. This also indicates that Dreame has been preparing in advance for car manufacturing.

At the beginning of this year, Dreame made further progress in entering the automotive industry. In January, the Starry Sky Project was established, with its business scope covering various fields related to new energy vehicles and components, excluding complete vehicle manufacturing.

Despite extensive preparations, the industry remains concerned about whether there is enough time for Dreame to announce its car manufacturing plans in 2025. From the official announcement in August 2025 to the delivery of cars in August 2027, there are only 24 months, and there are almost no precedents in the industry for such a rapid timeline. From an external perspective, Dreame's car manufacturing timeline is tight, the task is heavy, and there is virtually no room for error.

An industry insider estimated the timeline for Dreame's car manufacturing. According to the traditional car company schedule, completing at least two rounds of cold, high altitude, and high-temperature tests takes at least 10 months. If Dreame aims to complete the tests before the 2027 Spring Festival, it would have to compress the first round of cold tests to January 2026 and rush to finish the high-altitude tests by March, leaving a very narrow window.

Image source: Shetu.com

Additionally, as the three core components of new energy vehicles, JIMI does not conduct independent research and development in areas such as batteries, motors, and electronic controls, and mostly relies on external procurement. According to some information, leading core component companies like CATL, BYD's FinDreams, and Huawei Digital Power have already had 70% of their 2026 production capacity reserved by OEMs. If JIMI wants to "jump the queue," it may have to accept issues of premium pricing and payment terms, potentially increasing costs by over 10% directly.

Software might be the most confident aspect of Dreame's venture into car manufacturing. As a company focused on high-speed digital motors, intelligent algorithms, and motion control technology in the consumer electronics and smart manufacturing sectors, the algorithms it has developed may be reusable. However, it may face new challenges in areas such as automotive-grade chips, operating systems, and functional safety.

The challenges of mass-producing RVs in 2027 cannot be overlooked. "Passenger car chassis can be purchased externally, but the RV cabin requires new mold development," an automotive industry insider named Zhang Ming (alias) told Gasgoo Auto. "However, from the information we have gathered, it seems that this set of molds, which can easily cost millions, requires a development cycle of 10-15 weeks, and we have not yet seen any further actions from the company side."

If the molds are not obtained before the 2026 Spring Festival, the subsequent interior installation, furniture, and pipeline work will all be postponed, and there is a risk of the RV project being "delayed."

Of course, the aforementioned timelines are reasonable estimates made by the industry based on the normal car manufacturing pace. It is also possible that Dreame may take the "outsourcing" route in car manufacturing. According to industry insiders, Dreame is in discussions with some domestic car companies about contract manufacturing, utilizing the established production lines and announced resources of its partner car companies, which could potentially advance the mass production timeline by 3-4 months.

Gai Shi Auto, after consulting multiple sources, has consolidated the views of industry insiders, suggesting that it is not impossible for Jimee to build a car in 24 months, but the margin for error is almost zero. If any part of the process fails, the promise for 2027 may not be fulfilled.

While the public is discussing whether Dreame can build a car in 24 months, Dreame's own ambitions have already surpassed this.

According to related media reports, the automotive business unit of Dreame has planned five major product lines: S/A/B/C/D. These include products benchmarked against brands like McLaren, Lamborghini, Xiaomi, Tesla, NIO, Li Auto, AITO, Yangwang, and Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as products similar to the Volkswagen Beetle and BMW Mini.

From this plan, it can be seen that Dreametech's product lineup almost covers all categories and price ranges of automobiles, whether it's A-segment cars, high-end supercars, or off-road models, truly pursuing limitless possibilities.

Car manufacturers face skepticism: How to address these issues?

In an internal letter, Dreame emphasized that car manufacturing is the "inevitable choice of twelve years of technological accumulation," rather than chasing a trend. Their confidence mainly stems from the company's accumulation in fields such as high-speed digital motors, AI algorithms, and robotic sensing and control. However, the technical gap from vacuum cleaners to supercars is far from being bridged by a mere "inevitable choice."

The high-speed digital motor, which Dreame takes pride in as its "heart," has indeed reached a world-leading level. In the home appliance field, the high speed of 180,000 RPM signifies a revolutionary improvement in cleaning efficiency. However, this is a completely different technical metric from the continuous high-power output required by automobiles.

In terms of intelligent technology, the navigation algorithm and multi-sensor fusion technology applied by Dreame in their robotic vacuums are considered promising for transfer to smart cockpits and autonomous driving fields. However, there remains a significant engineering difference between the servo motors and high-speed computing platforms used in their quadruped robots and the drive-by-wire chassis and redundant control systems required by automobiles.

It is important to note that automobiles, as mobile safety carriers, require much higher system reliability than household appliances, as any single point of failure could lead to fatal consequences.

Image Source: Shetu.com

The more critical factor is the financial threshold. In an internal letter, Dreame pointed out, "We have made ample strategic reserves. But we believe more that the true barrier is not funding, but the ability to make the 'right product.' We will not waste a penny on the wrong path."

This statement clearly underestimates the funding requirements for car manufacturing. As early as 2016, William Li, the founder of NIO, put forward the classic threshold theory for car manufacturing: a new startup needs at least 20 billion RMB to be prepared for car manufacturing. In December 2021, Li raised the threshold again, saying, "A few years ago I said it was 20 billion RMB, now it might not be doable without 40 billion RMB."

Li Bin's argument about the funding threshold is not an alarmist statement. At the end of 2024, Xiaomi's founder Lei Jun mentioned that the total expenditure for Xiaomi's car manufacturing would be around 30 billion yuan.

According to the information, Dreame Technology's overall revenue in 2024 exceeded 15 billion RMB, with business operations spanning more than 100 countries and regions worldwide. Although the revenue has reached tens of billions, for the highly capital-intensive car manufacturing sector, this amount of funding still seems "insufficient."

Industry insiders have analyzed that Dreame may adopt a "left hand for OEM cash flow, right hand for self-research financing" model. Although this can alleviate short-term pressure, in the long run, it still requires continuous support from the capital market. With the financing environment for new energy vehicles tightening, there is considerable uncertainty as to whether this "two-pronged approach" can continue to be effective.

The policy environment also presents a double-edged sword effect. Dreame needs to address the important issue of qualifications. The National Development and Reform Commission is becoming increasingly stringent in its approval of new pure electric passenger vehicle projects. If Dreame cannot acquire existing qualifications through acquisition, it may face the risk of project delays.

Moreover, there is a significant gap between the brand image Dreame has built in the home appliance sector and the high-end perception required for luxury automobiles. Will consumers be willing to purchase a supercar created by a "vacuum cleaner brand"?

Dreametech might have considered this and thus adopted the strategy of "prioritizing overseas markets before turning to the domestic market." This could potentially mitigate the issue of insufficient brand recognition. However, Dreametech also needs to realize that overseas markets are more discerning towards new brands and have stricter certification barriers.

On the other side of the ocean, traditional ultra-luxury brands like Bugatti and Ferrari have already transitioned to electrification. The opportunity window left for Jime is not very wide.

Heroic Summary

Looking back from the time point of 2025, the ambition of Dreame to build cars is commendable, but the road ahead is fraught with challenges. Can the promise of mass production by 2027 be fulfilled? Is the goal of being the "world's fastest" a technological milestone or a marketing gimmick? The answer will ultimately be revealed by time.