BEIJING — Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi said Thursday it will sell its first car for far less than Tesla's Model 3, as price wars heat up in China's fiercely competitive electric car market.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the standard version of the SU7 will sell for 215,900 yuan ($30,408) in the country — a price he acknowledged would mean the company was selling each car at a loss.
He also said the SU7 had a minimum driving range of 700 kilometers (nearly 435 miles) versus the Model 3's 606 kilometers.
Lei also claimed that Xiaomi's car factory, for which all "key" steps are fully automated, can produce an SU7 every 76 seconds.
Earlier this week, the Xiaomi CEO said on social media the SU7 would be the best sedan "under 500,000 yuan" ($69,328).
Persons:
Xiaomi, Lei Jun, Lei, Tesla
Organizations:
Tesla's, Tesla, Huawei
Locations:
BEIJING, China, Beijing