China's Xiaomi delivers 20,000 EVs in October, just months after launching its first car

BEIJING — China's Xiaomi said Tuesday that it had delivered much than 20,000 SU7 EVs successful October arsenic it ramps up accumulation for its electrical car task successful a fiercely competitory market.

The Chinese company, which is mostly known for its smartphones and location appliances, reiterated plans to present 100,000 SU7 vehicles by the extremity of November. Xiaomi archetypal revealed plans to marque cars successful 2021 and began gathering a dedicated manufacturing works the aforesaid year.

The institution released the basal mentation of the SU7, its archetypal car, successful precocious March for astir $4,000 less than Tesla's cheapest car — Model 3 — successful China astatine the time. Tesla subsequently chopped the car's terms by astir $2,000. Xiaomi has delivered much than 75,000 SU7 cars to date, including October's figures.

Chinese rivals Xpeng and Nio took astir six years to produce 100,000 electrical cars, portion it took Tesla 12 years.

While Xpeng delivered a monthly grounds of much than 20,000 cars successful September, with astir fractional the income owed to its recently launched, lower-cost marque Mona, Nio has struggled to support monthly deliveries supra 20,000 cars.

Zeekr, an electrical car marque founded by automaker Geely, has claimed it produced more than 100,000 vehicles successful 1.5 years. It delivered a grounds 21,333 cars successful September.

Data connected different Chinese electrical car companies' deliveries for October is expected Friday.

"News of 20k deliveries successful October confirms that [Xiaomi] is going to beryllium a unit to reckon with successful the world's largest EV market," said Brian Tycangco, an expert astatine Stansberry Research.

He said Xiaomi's electrical car gross nett margins successful August were akin to Xpeng's that month, and person apt improved since, fixed ramped up production.

Xiaomi connected Tuesday besides announced it was taking preorders for the high-end sports version, SU7 Ultra, starting astatine 814,900 yuan ($114,304), up of a merchandise merchandise successful March 2025. The institution claimed that wrong 10 minutes, it received much than 3,600 preorders, each requiring a 10,000 yuan deposit.

The caller exemplary and its touted achievements connected the Nurburgring contention way successful Germany volition apt assistance Xiaomi merchantability much of its premium SU7 Max car, which costs conscionable 299,900 yuan, Citi analysts said successful a report. They present expect Xiaomi to present 250,000 cars adjacent year, up from 238,000 antecedently forecast.

Xiaomi claimed a prototype of the SU7 Ultra this week became the fastest four-door sedan to implicit the German contention track.

Citi analysts accrued their terms people connected Xiaomi to 30.60 Hong Kong dollars ($3.94), up from 22.70 HK dollars. They besides raised forecasts for the company's smartphone shipments, pursuing the motorboat of Xiaomi's flagship Mi 15 instrumentality Tuesday — the first phone to usage Qualcomm's newest chipset.

Xiaomi

Tesla's Model Y was the best-selling battery-powered electrical car successful China successful September with 48,202 vehicles sold, according to information from Chinese car manufacture tract Autohome. The Model 3 ranked 8th with astir 24,000 cars sold.

BYD's lower-priced models accounted for astir of the different apical 10 bestsellers successful the battery-only category. Xiaomi's SU7 ranked 17th past period with 13,559 cars sold, the information showed.

Xiaomi presently lone sells its cars successful China. The institution told CNBC earlier this twelvemonth it would instrumentality astatine slightest 2 to 3 years for any overseas launch.

— CNBC's Sonia Heng contributed to this report.