Xiaomi's Budget EV Makes Waves With 70,000 Lock-In Orders

China’s newest EV entrant, Xiaomi Corp XIACF, has reportedly received lock-in orders for over 70,000 of its SU7 electric sedans as of Saturday.

What Happened: Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said in an investor conference that the company aims to deliver over 100,000 SU7 vehicles this year, Reuters reported.

The company has already received over 70,000 orders for the vehicle where buyers have opted for non-refundable deposits, the report added.

Xiaomi is looking to focus its car business solely on the Chinese market for the coming three years and expects to lose money on it given the expensive parts and suppliers involved in the SU7, Jun reportedly said at the conference.

“I estimate that the gross profit margin will be around 5-10%,” he said.

Why It Matters: The SU7, which was launched last month, has a starting price of 215,900 yuan (about $29,792), lower than even the Tesla Model 3 in China.

The pricier variants of the sedan, called Pro and Max, start at 245,900 ($33,932) and 299,900 yuan ($41,384), respectively. Xiaomi received over 50,000 orders in less than half an hour of starting to take orders late last month and has already commenced deliveries of select versions of the vehicle.

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