Xiaomi has revealed its first electric car, the SU7 sedan, just two days after Huawei launched its Aito M9 SUV, showing that the efforts of Chinese tech giants to join the electric vehicle race are beginning to bear fruit. The two companies have made their names as makers of smartphones and other consumer electronics, but in recent years have revealed big ambitions in autos.
Speaking at the launch event Thursday, CEO Lei Jun said the company was entering a “new decade” and hoped to become one of the world’s top five automakers in the next 15 to 20 years. “It’s a new starting point for Xiaomi, and I’m convinced that one day in the future, there will be Xiaomis running on every road of this world.”
During a three-hour-long presentation, Lei said the company wanted to create “a dream car that is as good as Porsche and Tesla (保时捷和特斯拉).” It quickly realized the uphill battle it faced, he added. “To build a good car, it is still very, very difficult,” he told the audience. However, Lei suggested that after several years, Xiaomi had come up with an offering similar to Tesla’s Model S and Porsche’s Taycan Turbo, directly comparing the performance statistics of all three models on a slide shown onstage.
Mark Rainford, an automotive industry commentator (评论员) called Xiaomi’s offering “a winner”, predicting it would sell well in China. “It looks very convincing on paper, both performance- and tech-wise,” he said, noting that the car could easily connect with Xiaomi’s smartphones. By creating what is aluxury product, the company also appears to be targeting a different market, Rainford suggested. “It’s clear they believe they’re a match for or even better than Porsche and Tesla’s flagship models, which is very ambitious for a brand that most might consider a very strong consumer electronics brand but not necessarily perceive as premium (高端的),” he added.
Xiaomi did not reveal the model’s price at the event, though Lei said it would be “a little bit high.”
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