The global economic order is shifting. The once-static boundaries between industries blur, and in this brave new world, the old titans of manufacturing find themselves under siege from forces they failed to anticipate. One of the greatest disrupters in this unfolding drama is Xiaomi, the Chinese tech giant that built its empire on smartphones and household gadgets. Now, it is setting its sights on the European auto industry, and it is doing so with familiar faces from BMW’s own ranks.

At least five senior executives from BMW and other automakers have quietly made their way to Xiaomi’s growing electric vehicle research and development hub in Europe, their exits noted only in the hushed updates of LinkedIn profiles. Among them is Rudolf Dittrich, a 15-year BMW veteran, now leading Xiaomi’s European R&D efforts. Dusan Sarac, another former BMW insider, announced this month that he had joined the operation. Jannis Hellwig, once an integral part of BMW’s performance development team, has also signed on.

Xiaomi, long dismissed as merely a budget smartphone brand, has emerged as one of the most formidable challengers to the automotive establishment. Its SU7 sedan, launched last year, has already outsold Tesla’s Model 3 in China since December—an unsettling omen for Western automakers clinging to outdated assumptions about Chinese competition.

Company president Lu Weibing has made it clear: Xiaomi’s ambitions do not end at China’s borders. The company plans to begin selling its vehicles overseas by 2027, a move that will test the resolve of an industry still reeling from shifting geopolitical tides and the rapid rise of Chinese innovation.