BEIJING — Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on Wednesday (April 3) said it has received more than 100,000 orders for its first car — a sporty electric vehicle called the SU7 — as it began deliveries.
"Xiaomi's car officially debuts, the real revolution in smart cars has officially begun, and China will surely give birth to a great company like Tesla," CEO and founder Lei Jun said at a ceremony in Beijing marking the first deliveries.
The first deliveries come from a limited batch of 5,000 cars that Xiaomi had already produced — called the Founder's Edition, equipped with additional accessories for early buyers.
Following last week's launch of the SU7 — short for Speed Ultra 7 — Xiaomi advised buyers of its sedan that they could face wait times of four to seven months, a sign of robust demand.
Xiaomi's shares surged as much as 16 per cent on Tuesday as the SU7 drew strong interest, though a brokerage forecast the firm would lose nearly US$10,000 (S$13,500) per car this year. Its shares traded more than three per cent lower Wednesday morning, against a 1.1 per cent fall in the broader Hang Seng Index.
At Tuesday's highest, the company had a valuation of US$55 billion at a share price of HK$17.34 (S$3) — higher than that of traditional US automakers General Motors and Ford at US$52 billion and US$53 billion, respectively.
Xiaomi's SU7 enters a crowded China EV market with an attention-grabbing price tag — under US$30,000 for the base model, cheaper than Tesla's Model 3 in China.
While the world's largest auto market is challenging for newcomers due to a cut-throat EV price war and slowing demand, analysts have said Xiaomi has deeper pockets than most EV startups and its smartphone expertise gives it an edge in smart dashboards — a feature prized by Chinese consumers.
The company earns the majority of its US$37.5 billion revenue from selling smartphones.
The SU7 launch fulfils the ambition of Lei, who announced the company's foray into EVs in 2021, pledging to invest US$10 billion in the auto business as "the last major entrepreneurship project" of his life.
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