The Xiaomi SU7 will allow for customer experience starting on March 25, and reservations are currently open.
(Image credit: Xiaomi EV)
Xiaomi (HKG: 1810, OTCMKTS: XIACY) will officially launch its first electric vehicle (EV) model, the SU7, on March 28, the Chinese smartphone maker announced today.
Deliveries of the SU7 will begin at launch, Xiaomi's EV unit Xiaomi EV said on Weibo. Its expression about deliveries is vague and could also mean that deliveries will start soon after launch.
The Xiaomi SU7 will allow customers to experience it starting March 25, and reservations are currently open.
The first available stores for the model's show cars are 59 across 29 cities.
Xiaomi officially announced it was joining the car-making bandwagon on March 30, 2021, and made the SU7 debut on December 28, 2023.
Xiaomi Group president Lu Weibing said the official launch of the Xiaomi SU7 would come "very soon" and suggested that domestic deliveries will begin as soon as the second quarter, according to a February 26 CNBC report.
On February 27, a Zeekr executive said in a media interview following the launch of the company's updated Zeekr 001 that he had heard that Xiaomi's first EV model would be officially launched on March 28.
Xiaomi later responded to this by saying that the exact release date of the Xiaomi SU7 would be announced through official channels.
Xiaomi had not previously mentioned a possible price range for the SU7. Local media outlet Jiemian said in a January 30 report, citing an unnamed source at a major insurance company, that the SU7's top-trim could cost RMB 361,400 ($50,310) for the vehicle at the time of insurance purchase.
This means that the Xiaomi SU7's starting price will likely be between RMB 250,000 and RMB 370,000, Jiemian's report noted.
For reference, Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3 sedan is currently offered in two versions in China, with starting prices of RMB 245,900 and RMB 285,900, respectively. The Xiaomi SU7 is larger than the Model 3.
Prior to the SU7's unveiling on December 28, some joked that the model should be priced at either RMB 99,000 or RMB 199,000 in order for Xiaomi to have similar success in the EV market as it initially had in the smartphone market.
In an interview with CCTV on January 22, Xiaomi founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun said that the Xiaomi SU7 will not be priced at RMB 99,000 or RMB 199,000, and that the pricing may indeed be a bit expensive.
Xiaomi hopes to become one of the world's top five car companies through 15-20 years of efforts, and aims to be one of the top-tier players in the smart driving space by 2024, Lei said on December 28.
Some Wall Street analysts are bullish on Xiaomi's potential in the EV space, with analysts at Morgan Stanley saying in a January 14 research note that the Xiaomi EV is likely to be a disruptor.
Unlike the direct model used by China's major new car-making forces, sales of the Xiaomi EV will include both directly-managed stores and what it calls 2S (Sales & Service) authorized stores.
Xiaomi Group signed letters of intent with the first 14 sales and service partners on December 29 at its headquarters in Beijing, Lu said on January 2 on Weibo.
Xiaomi EV's new retail is based on a core of direct sales and leverages quality external forces in pursuit of ultimate business efficiency and user experience, Lu said at the time.
($1 = RMB 7.1830)
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