China’s Xiaomi announced Tuesday that it will begin deliveries of its first electric vehicle (EV), the SU7 model, this month, venturing into the world’s largest car market, where a fierce price war is raging.
The smartphone maker, China’s fifth-largest, said in a Weibo post that it has 59 stores in 29 cities across the country that will accept orders. A launch event is scheduled for March 28, when the sticker tag of the new EV is expected to be announced.
Xiaomi shares rose 7% in morning trading.
Electric car sales in China rose 18% in January and February, not far from the 21% growth expected for the whole of 2023. This year, we have seen a series of deeper price cuts led by market leader BYD to entice consumers as domestic demand softens.
At the unveiling of the Speed Ultra 7 (SU7) sedan in December, CEO Lei Jun said Xiaomi plans to become one of the world’s top five automakers.
The SU7, Lei praised, features “super electric motor” technology that can accelerate faster than electric cars from Tesla and Porsche.
Analysts say the car’s shared operating system with Xiaomi’s popular phones and other electronic devices will appeal to the company’s existing customers.
Xiaomi is also trying to focus on electric vehicles in addition to its core business, as demand for smartphones stagnates. This plan was announced back in 2021.
The cars are produced by a unit of state-owned automaker BAIC Group, at a plant in Beijing with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles.
The smartphone giant has pledged to invest $10 billion in cars over the next decade and is one of the few new entrants into China’s electric vehicle market to receive approval from authorities who have been reluctant to contribute to the supply glut.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
