Targeting Porche, Tesla: What we know about Xiaomi's EV launch

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi offered a teasing glimpse of its first electric vehicle (EV) in Beijing on Thursday. Boldly, the company has set its sights to be "as good as" Porsche and Tesla, aiming to become one of the world's leading automakers.

The EV has been put into production and is estimated to enter the market in 2024, the company said.

Over 10 billion yuan (about $1.42 billion) has been invested in its first-stage auto research and development, which involves a team of over 3,400 engineers, the company said.

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, talked about the firm's ambitious goal, aiming to become one of the world's top five car manufacturers over the next 15 to 20 years.

The new EV SU7

The car model, SU7 (Speed Ultra 7), can run up to 800 kilometers on a single charge and has a top speed of 265 kilometers per hour. It can sprint to 100 km/h in 2.78 seconds, according to the company.

The firm said it has achieved technological breakthroughs in key fields, such as electric driving, batteries, automation and cockpits, and has built factories for parts such as motors and battery packs.

Lei said that its "super electric motor" is capable of delivering acceleration speeds faster than Tesla cars and Porsche EVs, and its next generation will be put into mass production in 2025.

"Xiaomi prioritizes research and development into batteries," Lei said. "We've also built our own battery factory to guarantee their performance and quality."

Why a phonemaker targets cars

Xiaomi's 2019 annual report indicated that the proportion of revenue from mobile phones is declining, while the proportion from Internet of Things (IoT) is rising.

Lei showed signs of integrating Xiaomi's IoT tech into vehicles, with evidence coming from his investments in EV manufacturers NIO in 2015 and Xpeng Motor in 2016 and 2019.

Later, in a press conference in March 2021, he announced that Xiaomi would "fight for making cars." Consequently, a wholly-owned subsidiary was established to implement the smart electric vehicle business.

One of Xiaomi's rivals in China's smartphone arena, Huawei, also invested hugely into automobile technologies. But the Shenzhen-based company promised to be only a supplier and won't launch Huawei-branded cars.

Apple is rumored to have been trying to build self-branded cars for years but the U.S. phone-maker has never publicly announced an automobile product.

South Korea's Samsung Group also tried to build cars back in the 1990s. But now the subsidiary mostly belongs to French carmaker Renault.

"Xiaomi is a well-established consumer electronics brand with hundreds of millions of 'Mi Fans,' or members of its smart device ecosystem," said Bill Russo, CEO of Shanghai-based advisory firm Automobility. "As such, they have a significant opportunity to break through as the automobile becomes a smart device."

'Not cheap'

The price for the new EV remains undisclosed. However, Lei stated that while the purchase wouldn't be cheap, "everyone will consider it justified." He dismissed rumors suggesting a price tag of 99,000 yuan (almost $14,000) or 140,000 yuan (nearly $20,000).

He had roughly set a price tag of 100,000 to 300,000 yuan (roughly $14,000 to $42,000) after his announcement of building Xiaomi's own car.

"I think Xiaomi will also make this car super affordable given their history. Congrats to Xiaomi and Mi fans," an internet user commented on YouTube.

Xiaomi's first smartphone in 2011, the Mi 1, was stuffed with the most powerful Qualcomm chip available at the time and priced at a mid-range 1,999 yuan (about $280). Nearly two years later, the company introduced RedMi 1, priced at only 799 yuan (around $113). Many Mi fans thanked the company for bringing cheap but well-working smartphones to more people.

The company has been working for years to change its "cheap" brand image, launching more expensive products with more innovative features.