Xiaomi surprises with lower-than-expected pricing on new EVs, in new challenge to Tesla
- The high-end SU7 Pro costs 245,900 yuan while the SU7 Max, the most powerful vehicle in the series, was priced at 299,900 yuan
- Chinese EV tycoons including He Xiaopeng of Xpeng Motors, William Li Bin of Nio, and Li Xiang of Li Auto were present at the event
The high-end SU7 Pro costs 245,900 yuan while the SU7 Max, the most powerful vehicle in the series, was priced at 299,900 yuan. Xiaomi has started pre-orders on the vehicles, including 5,000 units of the “Founders” version of the SU7 and SU7 Max, said Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder, chairman and chief executive.
“We have benchmarked our car with [Tesla’s] Model 3 ,” he said, to a cheering audience in Beijing’s southern hi-tech economic development zone.
The Xiaomi CEO said the SU7, which has a 700-km battery life, is priced lower than the Tesla Model 3, but added that 90 per cent of its specifications surpass the Tesla model. “I believe consumers will make their choices,” he said.
Analysts had forecast that Xiaomi would price its vehicles in a range between 200,000 yuan and 370,000 yuan.
“The car is priced at a level below market expectations since analysts had forecast that the SU7 would start at 250,000 yuan,” said Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based electric-vehicle data provider CnEVPost. “The attractive prices will help Xiaomi draw a huge number of buyers and force some of its competitors to offer discounts to stay competitive.”
