Smartphone maker Xiaomi has Tesla in its sights as it reportedly plans to debut first car model by year-end

The entry-level version of Xiaomi’s car could be priced between 260,000 yuan (US$37,900) and 300,000 yuan, according to a report by LatePost

The car will be powered by BYD’s lithium iron phosphate battery packs, use Nvidia Orin chips and will be fitted with Lidar sensors

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Smartphone maker Xiaomi plans to launch its first car, a midsize sedan, later this year. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:30pm, 6 Jan 2023Updated: 10:01pm, 6 Jan 2023

Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi plans to develop a battery-powered midsize sedan to take on Tesla’s Model 3 as it steps up efforts to tap the mainland’s electric vehicle (EV) market.

The first model from the Beijing-based company is expected to launch at the end of this year, joining an overcrowded market of nearly 200 EV builders amid an accelerated pace of electrification on the mainland’s roads, according to a report by Chinese media LatePost on Thursday.

The basic edition of the car could be priced between 260,000 yuan (US$37,900) and 300,000 yuan, compared to 229,900 yuan for the entry-level version of the Model 3, one of the bestselling premium EVs on the mainland, according to LatePost.

The car, which will be powered by BYD’s lithium iron phosphate battery packs, will also be fitted with Lidar sensors, intelligent cockpit and Nvidia Orin chips, considered to be the best automobile chips in the world, it added.

Lei Jun, one of the co-founders of Xiaomi, announced the company would enter the smart electric vehicle market at an event in Beijing, on March 30, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE

Xiaomi did not respond to a request for comment about the car’s development status on Friday.

“The market is pinning its hopes on Xiaomi’s smart electric cars,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “The first Xiaomi model will not be considered a success unless it beats Model 3 in terms of performance and pricing.”