Fast Facts
- Chinese tech company Xiaomi announced that it will launch its first EV Mar. 28.
- The company plans to target "the premium segment" with the vehicle
- Other Chinese tech companies, such as Huawei and Baidu, are also making EVs
Chinese smartphone and electronics giant Xiaomi on Tuesday said that it plans to officially launch its first highly anticipated foray into the electric vehicle market on Mar. 28.
The SU7, according to an English translation of a social media post on Weibo, will be "delivered as soon as it is launched."
The company has opened reservations for the car at 59 stores in 29 cities across China. The volume, according to the post, "will be increased" following this initial round of deliveries.
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Xiaomi unveiled some of the details of its car, the SU7, in December 2023; the vehicle's price point, however, remains unclear, though Xiaomi President Weibing Lu told CNBC in February that the company plans to target the "premium segment" with the car.
Xiaomi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We think it’s a good starting point for us in the premium segment because we have already 20 million premium users in China based on the smartphone,” Lu said. "I think the initial purchases will be very overlapped with the smartphone users.”
He said at the time that the company was considering a range of price points, from entry-level to luxury, for the car. The price is expected to be announced at the launch event on Mar. 28, according to Reuters.
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Xiaomi's SU7
During the unveiling in December, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun expressed his ambition to transform the company into a premier global automaker, saying: "By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, we will become one of the world's top five automakers, striving to lift China's overall automobile industry."
The goal, he said, was to build a "dream car comparable to Porsche and Tesla."
The standard version of the SU7 has a range of 415 miles, while the SU7 Max has a range of nearly 500 miles.
The car will include Xiaomi Pilot, a driving assistance program powered by cameras, radar and lidar. And everything is designed to incorporate seamlessly with each driver's Xiaomi smartphone.
"In the new century, Tesla redefined the car into a mobile computer on wheels, ushering in the era of smart EVs," Lei said at the time. "I believe the mission of the automotive industry today is to create mobile smart spaces. That's where Xiaomi EV comes in."
Xiaomi has spent billions of dollars developing the car over the past three years.
The company's push into EVs comes in the midst of an aggressive price war, led by Tesla (TSLA) , that has been further hurting the already slim profit margins of the industry for months.
Xiaomi is one of several Chinese smartphone companies pushing into EVs; both Huawei and Baidu have been making similar moves in recent months, as well.
Contact Ian with tips and AI stories via email, ian.krietzberg@thearenagroup.net, or Signal 732-804-1223.
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