<p>Beijing: Chinese smartphone maker <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a> on Wednesday said it has received more than 1,00,000 orders for its first car - a sporty <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/electric-vehicle">electric vehicle</a> (EV) called the SU7 - as it began deliveries.</p><p>"Xiaomi's car officially debuts, the real revolution in smart cars has officially begun, and China will surely give birth to a great company like Tesla," CEO and founder Lei Jun said at a ceremony in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/beijing">Beijing</a> marking the first deliveries.</p><p>The first deliveries come from a limited batch of 5,000 cars that Xiaomi had already produced - called the "Founder's Edition," equipped with additional accessories for early buyers.</p><p>Following last week's launch of the SU7 - short for Speed Ultra 7 - Xiaomi advised buyers of its sedan that they could face wait times of four to seven months, a sign of robust demand.</p><p>Xiaomi's shares surged as much as 16 per cent on Tuesday as the SU7 drew strong interest, though a brokerage forecast the firm would lose nearly $10,000 per car this year. Its shares traded more than 3 per cent lower Wednesday morning, against a 1.1 per cent fall in the broader Hang Seng Index.</p>.Xiaomi's EV buyers face up to seven-month wait for car, app shows.<p>At Tuesday's highest, the company had a valuation of $55 billion at a share price of HK$17.34 - higher than that of traditional US automakers General Motors and Ford at $52 billion and $53 billion, respectively.</p><p>Xiaomi's SU7 enters a crowded <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/china">China</a> EV market with an attention-grabbing price tag - under $30,000 for the base model, cheaper than Tesla's Model 3 in China.</p><p>While the world's largest auto market is challenging for newcomers due to a cut-throat EV price war and slowing demand, analysts have said Xiaomi has deeper pockets than most EV startups and its smartphone expertise gives it an edge in smart dashboards - a feature prized by Chinese consumers.</p><p>The company earns the majority of its $37.5 billion revenue from selling smartphones.</p><p>The SU7 launch fulfils the ambition of Lei, who announced the company's foray into EVs in 2021, pledging to invest $10 billion in the auto business as "the last major entrepreneurship project" of his life.</p>
<p>Beijing: Chinese smartphone maker <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/xiaomi">Xiaomi</a> on Wednesday said it has received more than 1,00,000 orders for its first car - a sporty <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/electric-vehicle">electric vehicle</a> (EV) called the SU7 - as it began deliveries.</p><p>"Xiaomi's car officially debuts, the real revolution in smart cars has officially begun, and China will surely give birth to a great company like Tesla," CEO and founder Lei Jun said at a ceremony in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/beijing">Beijing</a> marking the first deliveries.</p><p>The first deliveries come from a limited batch of 5,000 cars that Xiaomi had already produced - called the "Founder's Edition," equipped with additional accessories for early buyers.</p><p>Following last week's launch of the SU7 - short for Speed Ultra 7 - Xiaomi advised buyers of its sedan that they could face wait times of four to seven months, a sign of robust demand.</p><p>Xiaomi's shares surged as much as 16 per cent on Tuesday as the SU7 drew strong interest, though a brokerage forecast the firm would lose nearly $10,000 per car this year. Its shares traded more than 3 per cent lower Wednesday morning, against a 1.1 per cent fall in the broader Hang Seng Index.</p>.Xiaomi's EV buyers face up to seven-month wait for car, app shows.<p>At Tuesday's highest, the company had a valuation of $55 billion at a share price of HK$17.34 - higher than that of traditional US automakers General Motors and Ford at $52 billion and $53 billion, respectively.</p><p>Xiaomi's SU7 enters a crowded <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/china">China</a> EV market with an attention-grabbing price tag - under $30,000 for the base model, cheaper than Tesla's Model 3 in China.</p><p>While the world's largest auto market is challenging for newcomers due to a cut-throat EV price war and slowing demand, analysts have said Xiaomi has deeper pockets than most EV startups and its smartphone expertise gives it an edge in smart dashboards - a feature prized by Chinese consumers.</p><p>The company earns the majority of its $37.5 billion revenue from selling smartphones.</p><p>The SU7 launch fulfils the ambition of Lei, who announced the company's foray into EVs in 2021, pledging to invest $10 billion in the auto business as "the last major entrepreneurship project" of his life.</p>