In China’s extremely competitive electric vehicle industry, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi said on Thursday that it would offer its first automobile at a price that is far lower than Tesla’s Model 3. This comes as pricing wars flare up in the sector.
The CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, said that the regular version of the SU7 would be sold in the nation for a price of 215,900 yuan, which is equivalent to $30,408. He recognized that this pricing would imply that the business would be selling each vehicle at a loss.
In China, the starting price of a Tesla Model 3 is only 245,900 yuan.
Lei said that the base version of the SU7 outperformed the Model 3 in more than ninety percent of its specs, with the exception of two elements in which he stated that it might take Xiaomi at least three to five years to catch up to Tesla in terms of its capabilities. Moreover, he said that the SU7 has a minimum driving range of 700 kilometers, which is equivalent to almost 435 miles, in comparison to the Model 3’s range of 606 kilometers. The firm said that orders had surpassed 50,000 automobiles in the 27 minutes that had passed since the beginning of sales on Thursday night at 10 p.m. Beijing time.
As of the end of April, Lei said that the deliveries are scheduled to begin. In addition to this, Lei said that Xiaomi’s automobile manufacturing facility, in which all “key” procedures are entirely automated, is capable of producing an SU7 every 76 seconds. It was not immediately abundantly evident whether or not the plant was operating at full capacity.
On social media earlier this week, the CEO of Xiaomi said that the SU7 will be the greatest sedan “under 500,000 yuan” (which is equivalent to $69,328 US dollars).
At the same time that the automobile is entering a market that is very competitive in China, where businesses are introducing a plethora of new models and lowering their prices in order to stay in business. There have been partnerships between conventional automakers and the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The most notable of these partnerships is the establishment of the Aito brand, whose automobiles are often shown in Huawei smartphone dealerships.
According to information obtained from the website Autohome, which is a website that specializes in the automotive sector, the Tesla Model 3 is the most popular new energy sedan in China. It has a driving range of at least 600 kilometers (372 miles) and costs less than 500,000 yuan.
In accordance with Autohome, the starting price of the BYD Han sedan is 169,800 yuan.
According to the statistics, the starting price for Nio’s ET5 is 298,000 yuan, while the starting price for Xpeng’s P7 is 209,900 yuan. According to Autohome, the Zeekr 007 sedan, which is owned by Geely, has a starting price of 209,900 yuan.
As to the China Passenger Car Association, the sales of new energy vehicles, which include automobiles that are powered only by batteries, have seen a significant spike in China, now accounting for around one-third of the total sales of new passenger cars.
Accessory items
The leaders of Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto, three electric vehicle companies that are in direct competition with one another, were among the prominent guests at the launch ceremony for the Xiaomi SU7.
Lei displayed a variety of extras on Thursday, including an in-vehicle refrigerator, a customized front-window shade, and a smartphone holder. Some of these items are free with the purchase of a car before the end of April, while others may be purchased separately for a fee.
Lei said that the SU7 is compatible with Apple’s Car Play and has the capability to interface with the iPad. He also disclosed driver-assist technology that would be completely available in China in August and will be designed for use on highways and in cities.
Although Tesla’s Autopilot, which provides assistance to drivers on highways, is now available in China, the company’s “Full Self Driving” that is designed for use on city streets has not yet been made accessible in the nation.
Lei agreed that the SU7 had a far longer way to go before it could possibly be able to compete at this more premium level, despite the fact that Xiaomi had said that it aimed to compete with Porsche at an automotive technology event in December. He made the announcement that the “Max” version of the SU7, which was designed to compete with Porsche’s Taycan, will be available for purchase at a price of 299,900 yuan.
Device ecosystem as a whole
The Xiaomi SU7 is a component of the company’s recently introduced “Human x Car x Home” strategy, which aims to establish a network of gadgets that are linked to the company’s newly developed HyperOS operating system. Phones account for the majority of the company’s income, with appliances and other consumer items accounting for little less than thirty percent of the total.
According to statements made by Xiaomi’s President Lu Weibing to CNBC earlier this year, the business has been pursuing a premiumization plan since 2020. He also said that there are around 20 million people in that price bracket who may purchase the SU7. This is despite the fact that Xiaomi is normally recognized for producing devices that are more inexpensive.
According to Lu, who spoke with CNBC, the SU7 will first be offered for sale to customers in China, and it is estimated that any introduction in other countries would take at least two to three years.
At the end of February, the firm displayed the automobile at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This came after the company had previously shown the exterior and technology of the vehicle in Beijing at the end of December.
