The billionaire founder of Xiaomi, Lei Jun, presented new car model YU7, an SUV similar to Tesla’s Model Y, in a post on Weibo, Bloomberg reported.
Xiaomi YU7 is to compete with Tesla Y
Xiaomi YU7 is a 5-meter fully electric SUV equipped with a nickel-cobalt-manganese batteryto be produced by Contemporary Amperex Technology. The engine will have peak power 220 kW or 288 kWas separately notified by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Discussions about an SUV started already in 2021. However, the company finally decided first on the SU7, a sedan costing over PLN 30,000. USD with aesthetics similar to Tesla’s Model 3.
Macquarie analysts Cherry Ma and Eugene Hsiao expect that YU7 will be 10 to 15 percent. more expensive than SU7. This means that the price of YU7 will be in the range from 250 thousand yuan ($34.5 thousand) to 330 thousand. yuan. In China, Tesla Model Y prices start at 249,900 yuan.
The SU7 sedan is already conquering the market
Xiaomi is preparing a second model just a few months after entering the market with the SU7 model, which is selling better than previously expected. The company intends to deliver 130,000 this year pieces of the SU7 sedancompared to the previous goal set at 120,000.
Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle / Bloomberg / Qilai Shen
SUVs are a type larger than sedans that are gaining popularity across China. Entering this EV segment would mark a major expansion of Xiaomi’s $10 billion EV venture, which Lei personally spearheads.
Xiaomi’s expansion plans
The company is trying to reduce its dependence on the volatile smartphone market, where Apple dominates globally. However, entering the electric vehicle industry means fierce competition against established rivals such as Tesla and BYD.Following the success of its first vehicle, the Beijing-based company intends to go further and expand production. For this purpose, it has already purchased land near its existing electric vehicle factory to build another production plant.
Citigroup analysts including Kyna Wong see a chance that Xiaomi could exceed 2025 shipment estimates with the new model.
“We see an increase in our delivery estimate of 273,000. cars in 2025, which depends on how quickly phase 2 production plants could be launched,” according to the Citigroup report.
