by XU Meihui

Since announcing its move into electric vehicles, Chinese home appliance maker Dreame Technology has faced persistent skepticism over whether it can make the leap into cars. At a Silicon Valley event, it laid out its most detailed answer yet.

At the four-day event starting April 27 local time in Silicon Valley, Dreame showcased its ambitions through a concept "rocket car" dubbed Nebula NEXT 01 Concept JET Edition, designed as a showcase of its engineering capabilities.

In interviews with media including Jiemian News, MA Junye, president of Dreame's automotive project, said the company aims to build "a global premium new energy vehicle brand."

Dreame's strategy combines heavy in-house technology development with a partnership-based production model. It is adopting what Ma described as a model similar to Huawei's—focusing on core technologies while relying on partners for vehicle manufacturing.

The company began building its auto team in 2021, but only disclosed the project publicly in 2025 after several years of behind-the-scenes development.

The auto unit now has more than 1,000 employees, mostly in R&D, and is expected to expand further. Founder and CEO YU Hao has been closely involved in vehicle design and product definition, while engineering teams handle execution.

Despite outsourcing production, Dreame is keeping control of key technologies, including chassis architecture, electric powertrains, battery systems and in-car software platforms. Ma also confirmed that the company is working on developing its own chips for intelligent driving and cockpit computing to support its system architecture.

Ma said the company has secured sufficient funding for the project, supplemented by external funding, though he did not disclose specific figures. He rejected comparisons with failed cross-industry ventures such as LeEco, saying Dreame is focused on delivering production-ready vehicles rather than concept-driven projects.

Unlike most new entrants in China's EV market, which target mass segments with aggressive pricing, Dreame is taking a different approach.

"We won't compete in the sub-200,000 yuan segment," Ma said.

Instead, Dreame plans to enter the ultra-premium market. Its production models are expected to start above 1 million yuan, while the rocket concept car could be priced in the tens of millions of yuan range.

Mass production is scheduled for 2027, beginning with a pure-electric coupe, followed by SUVs on the same platform.

The rocket car, which will not be mass-produced, features a dual solid-fuel rocket booster system. Dreame said the design, based on simulations, could deliver up to 100 kilonewtons of thrust and accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 0.9 seconds. Ignition tests are planned for late May.

The concept is part of what Dreame calls an "N+1" development approach—testing technologies at extreme limits before scaling them down for production vehicles.

Dreame's strategy is based on avoiding the crowded mass market. Ma said many domestic EV makers are caught in price wars, with some reporting gross margins as low as -31% per vehicle.

"Our premise is that the business must be economically viable at the unit level," he said, adding that higher-priced models are needed to sustain positive operating cash flow.

Dreame's pricing strategy is tied to its global ambitions. The company is targeting a global pool of high-income consumers, arguing that demand for high-performance, intelligent EVs remains underserved outside China.

Ma said many Chinese EV exports are still concentrated in lower-priced segments, typically around 100,000 yuan, leaving a gap in the premium category.

According to Global Market Insights, the global luxury EV market is projected to grow from $214.7 billion in 2026 to $562.4 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of 11.3%.

Whether Dreame can deliver on its ambitions remains uncertain. With just over a year before its first production model is due, the challenge will be translating advanced concepts into deliverable products—and whether global luxury buyers are willing to trust a new entrant.