Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi unveiled its long-awaited electric car on Thursday, December 28, 2023, but declined to reveal its price or specific release date.
CNBC | Evelyn Cheng
BEIJING – Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi said on Thursday its first car will be priced much lower than Tesla’s Model 3, as a price war intensifies in China’s competitive electric vehicle market.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the standard version of the SU7 will sell for 215,900 yuan ($30,408) in China – a price he acknowledged meant the company would sell each vehicle at a loss.
Tesla Model 3 starts at China 245,900 yuan.
Lei Jun said that the SU7 standard version beats the Model 3 in more than 90% of specifications, except for two aspects. He said that it may take Xiaomi at least three to five years to catch up with Tesla.
Deliveries are expected to begin by the end of April, he said. Lei Jun also claimed that all “critical” steps in Xiaomi’s car factory are fully automated and can produce an SU7 every 76 seconds. It’s unclear whether the plant is fully operational.
Earlier this week, Xiaomi’s CEO said on social media that the SU7 would be the best sedan “under 500,000 yuan” ($69,328).
Cars are entering the fiercely competitive Chinese market, and companies are launching a slew of new models and cutting prices in order to survive. Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has partnered with traditional carmakers, most notably with the launch of the Aito brand, whose cars are regularly displayed in Huawei smartphone showrooms.
TeslaThe Model 3 is China’s best-selling new energy sedan, with a range of at least 600 kilometers (372 miles) and a price of less than 500,000 yuan, according to industry website Autohome.
BYDAccording to Autohome, the starting price of the Han sedan is 169,800 yuan.
NiohThe starting price of ET5 is 298,000 yuan, while XpengData shows that the starting price of P7 is 209,900 yuan. According to Autohome, the starting price of Geely’s Zeekr 007 sedan is 209,900 yuan.
Sales of new energy vehicles, including pure electric vehicles, have surged in China and account for about one-third of new passenger car sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
The SU7 is part of Xiaomi’s recently launched “People x Cars x Homes” strategy, which aims to build an ecosystem of devices connected to its new HyperOS operating system. The company generates most of its revenue from mobile phones, with less than 30% coming from appliances and other consumer goods.
Although Xiaomi is generally known for its affordable products, its president Lu Weibing told CNBC earlier this year that the company has been pursuing a premiumization strategy since 2020 and that about 20 million users in this price range may buy the SU7.
Lu told CNBC that the SU7 will first be sold to consumers in China, with overseas launches taking at least two to three years.
The company showcased the car at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of February, after showing off the car’s appearance and technology in Beijing in late December.
