Xiaomi sold 50 thousand electric cars in 27 minutes | Automobiles

Chinese technology company Xiaomi announced this Saturday the sale of the first 50,000 electric vehicles just 27 minutes after the official launch of the “high-performance, green-technology sports car”, with which it debuted in the sector.

The launch event, held on Thursday in Beijing, was attended by the company’s founder, Lei Jun, who announced the public sale price of the big personal bet: 215,900 yuan (27,667 euros) for the entry-level model and 299,900 yuan (38,432 euros) for the so-called Max.

“It’s 30,000 yuan (3,851 euros) cheaper than the Model 3,” said Lei about the vehicle from North American Tesla, whose sales price in China starts at 245,900 yuan (31,571 euros).

Although the Hong Kong stock exchange did not trade this Friday, due to the Good Friday holiday, Xiaomi shares in the United States registered a significant recovery of 12.51% after the company’s announcement.

The presentation was followed by more than two million viewers across various platforms, including the Chinese WeChat, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter), and was attended by around a thousand people, including the executive directors of major Chinese brands such as Nio , Xpeng, Li Auto and BYD.

The launch of the Xiaomi SU7 follows the publication on Tuesday of a record annual profit in 2023 from world electric vehicle champion BYD, based in Shenzhen, southeast China.

The Chinese electric vehicle market has expanded at breakneck speed in recent years. Several Chinese brands are now challenging leading German, North American and Japanese manufacturers.

The vehicle from Xiaomi, one of the main Chinese brands of mobile phones, touch screen devices, connected watches, headphones or electric motorcycles, offers acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 2.78 seconds, as well as a maximum speed of 265 kilometers per hour, in the highest range.

The car is available in three versions, Standard, Pro and Max, in nine colors, with the Standard version offering a range of up to 700 kilometers, compared to the 810 kilometers of the Max model, “industry leader”, said Lei Jun “We are very excited about the response to the SU7,” said the Xiaomi founder.

The SU7 will be on sale in 211 stores in 39 Chinese cities within a month, from purchase to delivery of the vehicle, Lei added. The group, which has not yet announced plans to sell the vehicle abroad, plans to launch more models of electric vehicles in the future, with the aim of becoming one of the top five electric car manufacturers in the world within 15 to 20 years.

Evergrande NEV, a subsidiary of the Chinese real estate group facing insolvency proceedings, gave itself “three to five years” when it was founded in 2019 to become the “most powerful” electric car manufacturer in the world. The brand’s survival is now at stake, weakened by the parent company’s problems and poor sales.