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The
smartphone maker, China's fifth-largest, said in a Weibo post it
has 59 stores in 29 cities nationwide that will take orders. A
launch event is scheduled for March 28 when the new EV's sticker
tag is expected to be announced.
Xiaomi's shares rallied 7% during morning trade.
China's EV sales climbed 18% in January-February, not too far
off 21% growth seen for all of 2023. This year has seen a round
of deeper price cuts led by market leader BYD to woo consumers
amid weakening domestic demand.
At the unveiling of the Speed Ultra 7 (SU7) sedan in December,
Chief Executive Lei Jun said Xiaomi plans to become one of the
world's top five automakers.
The SU7, Lei touted, has "super electric motor" technology
capable of delivering acceleration speeds faster than Tesla and
Porsche's EVs.
Analysts say the car's shared operating system with Xiaomi's
popular phones and other electronic devices will appeal to the
company's existing customers.
Xiaomi has been seeking to diversify beyond its core business to
EVs amid stagnating demand for smartphones - a plan it first
flagged in 2021.
Its cars will be produced by a unit of state-owned automaker
BAIC Group, in a Beijing factory with an annual capacity of
200,000 vehicles.
The smartphone giant has pledged to invest $10 billion in autos
over a decade and is one of the few new players in China's EV
market to gain approval from authorities who have been reluctant
to add to a supply glut.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu, Casey Hall and Qiaoyi Li; Editing by Tom
Hogue and Edwina Gibbs)
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