Electric Car From Xiaomi Costs $29,870 In The Chinese Auto Market

(CTN News) – Xiaomi began selling its electric car on Thursday, with a price range of 215,900 to 299,900 yuan ($29,870-$41,493) in a fiercely competitive domestic market.

As Lei Jun noted at the launch event, switching from electronics to car manufacturing had not been easy, noting that Apple had given up on the idea.

Having developed this car for three years, my biggest realization is that it is extremely difficult to make cars. Even Apple gave up on it. Today, every person who persists in making cars is a hero,” Lei said.

According to Lei, SU7 EV’s standard model will be priced at 215,900 yuan, while the Pro and Max versions will be priced at 245,900 yuan and 299,900 yuan, respectively. The Standard and Max models will begin shipping in late April, followed by the Pro models in May.

China is the world’s largest auto market, and all SU7 models will be sold there for now. In addition to its minimum range of 700 km, Xiaomi’s SU7 is superior to Tesla’s Model 3, which has a range of 567 km.

In 2021, Xiaomi founder Lei announced the company would enter the EV industry, pledging $10 billion as his “last major entrepreneurship project” before he retired. It comes at a time when the industry faces a difficult choice.

The SU7 – short for Speed Ultra 7 – sedan was unveiled in December as part of a manufacturing partnership with state-owned automaker BAIC Group.

Xiaomi’s car project is divided among analysts.

Many Chinese homes use rice cookers, air purifiers, and other electronics from the company.

Automobility CEO Bill Russo said that mobile device companies are the best at monetizing screens in China’s digitally oriented car market. However, its SU7 sedan price puts it in competition with more established EV makers like Tesla and Geely’s Zeekr.

There is a starting price of 245,900 yuan for Tesla’s Model 3, while there is a starting price of 269,000 yuan for Zeekr’s 001 and 007 vehicles. Founder of Sino Auto Insights Tu Le asked, “Can (Chinese consumers) make the psychological leap from mass-market, cool, inexpensive consumer products to premium EVs?”

POCKETS THAT ARE DEEP

China’s auto market faces several challenges with the launch of the SU7. As the top 10 players continue to expand their market share, newcomers are finding it quite challenging, said Gavekal Dragonomics analyst Ernan Cui.

Xiaomi is at risk of being a cost drag for the company for the foreseeable future if it isn’t able to sell at scale within a short period.

In Xiaomi’s favor, however, are revenues generated by other business units, according to Le of Sino Auto Insights. It is possible for them to focus too much on electric vehicles and lose sight of the sectors and products that got them there, he said.

Xiaomi has deep pockets, according to Bernstein’s January analysis. Xiaomi came in third in cash and cash equivalents behind Huawei and SAIC, but ahead of nine automakers. Analysts say Xiaomi’s smartphone expertise gives it an edge over traditional automakers when it comes to smart cockpits – a feature Chinese consumers demand.

Connecting EV users to their other devices, including smartphones, is handled by the company’s self-developed Hyper OS.

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