Xiaomi benchmarked its envisioned SUV to Tesla's Model Y during development, according to Bloomberg.
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Xiaomi (HKG: 1810, OTCMKTS: XIACY) aims to start producing and selling an SUV (sport utility vehicle) similar to Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y as early as 2025, according to a Bloomberg report today.
Xiaomi benchmarked its envisioned SUV to Tesla's during development, Bloomberg said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Discussions about an SUV began back in 2021 when Xiaomi founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun announced that an electric vehicle represented his last major entrepreneurial endeavor, according to the report.
But the company ultimately decided to launch the SU7 first, with production of the sedan set to reach about 100,000 units this year, according to the report.
Xiaomi doesn't expect the SUV to be in production until the end of 2025 at the earliest, when the second phase of the company's assembly plant in Beijing is completed, a person familiar with the matter said, according to the report.
Xiaomi is currently prioritizing production of the SU7 as the company delivers just under 10,000 units per month, the person said.
Xiaomi officially launched the SU7 on March 28, offering three trims -- standard, Pro, and Max -- with starting prices of RMB 215,900 ($29,840), RMB 245,900, and RMB 299,900, respectively.
In the traditional auto industry, the demand for SUVs and sedans is 1 : 1, Lei said at an investor conference on April 23, adding that sedans are the mainstream demand in the battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment.
Xiaomi EV's factory is located in Yizhuang, Beijing, with a planned annual capacity of 300,000 units. The plant will be built in two phases, with annual production capacity of 150,000 units for Phase I and Phase II, according to a previous announcement.
The first phase of the plant, which was completed in June 2023, covers an area of about 720,000 square meters and have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. The second phase is scheduled to begin construction in 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2025, according to an April 2 report by local media outlet Yicai.
Xiaomi is targeting monthly deliveries of more than 10,000 units of the SU7 in June, Lei said on April 25, the first day of the Beijing auto show.
Xiaomi delivered 7,058 units of the SU7 in April, with first deliveries of the model starting on April 3, according to figures released by the company earlier this month.
As of 24:00 Beijing Time on April 30, there were 88,063 locked-in orders for the SU7, Xiaomi EV announced on May 1 on Weibo.
Xiaomi's second model will be an all-electric SUV, and the company is also planning another new model with a lower price tag, local media outlet 36kr said in an April 23 story.
The smartphone giant's SUV, which will be launched in 2025, will help Xiaomi EV expand its presence in the mainstream market, the report said.
While the SU7 has received good feedback from the market, it is after all the first vehicle and has some regrets, which will be seen remedied in the subsequent SUV model, 36kr quoted a source close to the Xiaomi EV team as saying.
Xiaomi's third model is cost-sensitive and is initially positioned in the RMB 150,000 class, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
($1 = RMB 7.2344)
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