Xiaomi Group president said the formal release of the SU7 will come "very soon," and indicated that domestic deliveries will begin as soon as the second quarter, according to CNBC.

(Xiaomi Group president Lu Weibing presented SU7 at Mobile World Congress on February 25, 2024, in Barcelona. Image credit: Xiaomi EV)

Deliveries of the first electric vehicle (EV) model from Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi (HKG: 1810) will begin within a few months, likely further intensifying competition in the sector.

Xiaomi Group president Lu Weibing said the formal release of the Xiaomi SU7 will be "very soon," and indicated that domestic deliveries could start as soon as the second quarter, according to a February 26 report from CNBC.

Xiaomi showcased the SU7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, marking the model's first appearance on the international stage, and Lu revealed the plan in an interview with CNBC ahead of the event.

Xiaomi officially announced its entry into car building on March 30, 2021 and made the SU7 debut on December 28, 2023. Pricing for the model has not yet been announced and an official launch date has not been set.

"We think it's a good starting point for us in the premium segment because we have already 20 million premium users in China based on the smartphone," Lu said in the CNBC interview.

"I think the initial purchases will be very overlapped with the smartphone users," he said.

Xiaomi is generally known for its more affordable products, raising questions about whether it can sell EVs in a market where even established EV giants like BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) are dropping their prices dramatically, the CNBC report noted.

BYD started updating its models after China's Lunar New Year holiday, slashing prices significantly.

While BYD said it aims to take share from the fuel market at lower prices, it first put pressure on other EV makers, with some companies already following suit with price cuts.

As the first model from Xiaomi, the SU7 will target the mid- to high-end market.

The SU7's premium trim costs RMB 361,400 ($50,210) for the vehicle at the time of insurance purchase, local media outlet Jiemian said in a January 30 report, citing an unnamed source at a major insurance company.

This means that the Xiaomi SU7's starting price will likely be between RMB 250,000 and RMB 370,000, Jiemian's report said, citing market speculation.

The Xiaomi SU7 would officially enter the SOP (Start of Production) stage in mid-to-late February, local media outlet 36kr said on January 31, citing several industry sources.

Xiaomi's car-making arm, Xiaomi EV, plans to see production reach around 2,000 units in March and complete its capacity climb by mid-2024, with production upwards of 10,000 units in July, according to 36kr.

($1 = RMB 7.1976)

Xiaomi to begin mass production of its 1st EV model in Feb, output expected to reach 10,000 in Jul, report says