Xiaomi is set to launch its first electric sports utility vehicle model next summer, aiming to rival Tesla’s best-selling Model Y and serve as another growth driver following the immediate success of its debut consumer car.
Why it matters: The launch, scheduled for next June or July, announced by Xiaomi’s chief executive Lei Jun on Monday via the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, coincides with the company’s typical unveiling of its new flagship phones. These moves could help raise awareness and generate buzz that could translate into increased sales, similar to strategies recently employed by rival Huawei.
- Xiaomi last July unveiled its first flip phone, the Mix Flip, as well as a new generation of its premium foldable phone, the Mix Fold 4, CNBC reported. President Lu Weibing said the flip phone model “became a hit” during a media call following its better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report in August (our translation).
Details: Xiaomi’s second EV will be named the YU7 and is currently undergoing “a massive amount” of road tests, Lei said in another post on Tuesday. The comments came after China’s industry ministry released a number of registration filings of upcoming car models that include Xiaomi’s SUV for public review several hours earlier.
- The five-seater crossover shares nearly the same design as the SU7, Xiaomi’s first EV, featuring water-drop-shaped headlights, massively enlarged air inlets in front of the wheels, and a wide set of taillights, according to images released by Xiaomi.
- It has a wider body and a higher roof height than the SU7 and measures nearly five meters in length with a wheelbase of three meters, making it slightly larger than Tesla’s Model Y, according to the information published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
- The model’s powertrain consists of two electric motors and a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack from CATL, capable of producing a combined 691 horsepower and enabling the car to reach a top speed of 253 kilometers per hour (157 miles).
- Some experts expect the model to be a top-end version of the YU7 at a price tag of more than RMB 300,000 ($41,370). The car has an expensive lidar unit perched on the roof to support a suite of advanced driver assistance features, as shown in the images.
- The base-version of the YU7 could be priced from roughly RMB 250,000, analysts from China’s Citic Securities wrote in a note on Tuesday. For comparison, Tesla sells the China-made Model Y at a price range between RMB 249,900 and RMB 354,900. Tesla is expected to launch a redesigned Model Y in the middle of next year.
Context: Last month, Xiaomi raised its full-year delivery target from 120,000 to 130,000 electric vehicles, after its monthly deliveries surpassed 20,000 units for the first time in October. The SU7 sports sedan went on sale in March at a starting price of RMB 215,900.
READ MORE: Images of debut Xiaomi EV leaked on Chinese government site
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