Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi has announced it will begin deliveries of its first electric vehicle (EV) model, the Speed Ultra 7 (SU7), later this month as a price war in the international market rages.
The company said in a post to Chinese social media platform Weibo that it has 59 shops across 29 cities in the country that are ready to take orders and that shipments will begin on 28 March. A launch event is scheduled for the same day, the post added, during which a price for the new car will be announced.
Xiaomi shares in Hong Kong soared as much as 9.9% immediately after the announcement on Tuesday and up to 7% in international markets.
Best known for its affordable but high-specification mobile phones, the company has previously said it will invest $10bn in its vehicles business over the next ten years as it looks to diversify beyond a stagnating smartphone market.
Chief executive Lei Jun said at the SU7’s unveiling in December that the company plans to become one of the world’s top five automakers. He said the car has "super electric motor" technology and can deliver acceleration speeds faster than Tesla and Porsche EVs.
Its cars will be produced by a unit of state-owned automaker BAIC Group in a factory in Beijing with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles.
Western powers have become increasingly wary of cheap, heavily subsidised Chinese EVs hitting the international market. Fears that reduced prices might undermine domestic business have escalated in North America and Europe. Last week, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the nation is “very concerned of China bigfooting our [EV] industry”.
In September, in her last State of the Union address before the EU elections this June, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke harshly of Chinese EV subsidies, stating that global markets are now “flooded” with cheaper Chinese electric cars, whose prices are kept “artificially low” by state subsidies. She also announced a Commission-backed anti-subsidy investigation into EVs manufactured in China.
A price war among producers is also raging. Tesla has slashed the prices of its cars sold in China by thousands of dollars in recent months as it looks to compete with local manufacturers such as BYD Auto.
