Chinese consumer electronics and smartphone giant Xiaomi (XIACF) -) Thursday unveiled its first foray into the electric-vehicle market: the Xiaomi SU7.
During the event Founder and CEO Lei Jun revealed the company's ambition to grow Xiaomi into one of the world's most prominent automakers.
"By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, we will become one of the world's top 5 automakers, striving to lift China's overall automobile industry," he said, adding that his goal was to build a "dream car comparable to Porsche (POAHY) -) and Tesla." (TSLA) -)
Related: Tesla just got beat out by another growing competitor
The sedan, which will likely go on sale next year, will come in two versions: the SU7 and the SU7 Max. The standard SU7 comes with a range of about 415 miles and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.28 seconds.
The SU7 Max, which boasts a range of nearly 500 miles, goes from 0 to 60 in less than three seconds. The Tesla (TSLA) -) Model 3 sedan, in comparison, has a range of 333 miles and a 0 to 60 acceleration of 3.1 seconds.
The company highlighted breakthroughs it has made in battery technology, autonomous driving, smart cabins, e-motors and hypercasting, a production method similar to Tesla's gigacasting.
Introducing #XiaomiSU7 Aqua Blue! Who’s falling for it? pic.twitter.com/eh8yipYMSY
— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) December 28, 2023
Xiaomi EV includes driver-assistance system
Xiaomi's new EV architecture includes Xiaomi Pilot, a smart driving assistance software powered by cameras, lidar and radar.
The car's architecture is designed to integrate seamlessly with Xiaomi's other smart products and phones. Lei said that even in low temperatures the car can still charge quickly.
He did not disclose a price for the SU7, though he hinted that it would "indeed be a bit high but one that everyone will think is justified."
"In the new century, Tesla redefined the car into a mobile computer on wheels, ushering in the era of smart EVs," Lei said. "I believe the mission of the automotive industry today is to create mobile smart spaces. That's where Xiaomi EV comes in."
Huawei and Baidu have EV ventures
This is not the first time a Chinese smartphone company has ventured into the world of EV production; both Huawei and Baidu have recently partnered with traditional Chinese automakers to produce EVs.
Xiaomi, which said it spent about $1.4 billion to develop the car, has been working on the SU7 for about three years. The company expects to spend nearly $3 billion on research and development in 2023, a 25% increase from the year earlier.
Government documents indicate that the vehicle will be manufactured by a subsidiary of the state-owned automaker BAIC Group, which has an annual capacity of 200,000 units.
Xiaomi's push into EVs plays against the backdrop of a heavily saturated Chinese EV market, one that is currently dominated by BYD, (BYDDY) -) which has a 33% share of the market.
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