By Qiaoyi Li, Che Pan and Brenda Goh
BEIJING (Reuters) – Xiaomi will start selling its YU7 electric vehicle, in July, founder and CEO Lei Jun said on Thursday, disclosing the launch date of an SUV analysts say will be the strongest rival in China to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y.
The world’s third-largest smartphone maker, which also makes cars, announced specifications for its second EV model alongside launches of smartphones and tablets that use its self-developed chips.
Xiaomi did not disclose prices or start taking pre-orders for the YU7.
In his presentation of the YU7, Lei made comparisons to the Tesla’s Model Y. The YU7, for instance, has a driving range of up to up to 835 kilometres (519 miles) per charge, versus the redesigned Model Y that was launched in January with a range of up to 719 kilometres.
“The Model Y is priced from 263,500 yuan ($36,574) and these (YU7) configurations should make the car 60,000-70,000 yuan more expensive,” Lei said. “But we’ll talk about the price in July.”
Xiaomi entered the auto sector last year with its sporty EV SU7, which drew styling cues from Porsche and was priced below Tesla’s Model 3. Since December, the SU7 has outsold Tesla’s Model 3 in China on a monthly basis.
Xiaomi’s SU7 deliveries have exceeded 258,000 units since its launch, Lei said on Thursday.
But the company’s new EV orders have fallen following a fatal highway crash at the end of March involving an SU7 in driving-assistance mode. Its problems have been compounded by customer complaints of false advertising. Xiaomi apologised for “not clear enough” marketing.
Besides the YU7, Lei also announced a second new self-developed chip called Xring T1. The Xring O1 mobile chip, which the company announced earlier this month, matches Apple’s best processor A18 on performance, he said.
($1 = 7.2036 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(This story has been corrected to change SU7 to YU7 in the headline and paragraph 4)
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Barbara Lewis)
