Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi has received 289,000 pre-orders for its first sport utility vehicles within an hour of launching, in what the company says was a “miraculous” moment for the industry.
The thousands of pre-orders were for the Beijing-based tech giant’s five-seater YU7, priced from 253,500 yuan ($54,000).
Xiaomi, sometimes referred to as China’s Apple, is the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer.
Founder and chief executive of the electronics-turned-car company, Lei Jun, said he was astonished by the reaction from customers.
“My goodness, in just two minutes, we received 196,000 paid pre-orders and 128,000 lock-in orders,” Mr Jun said in a video distributed after the vehicle’s launch.
After the launch, Xiaomi’s Hong Kong-listed shares soared 8 per cent at one point before pulling back slightly but ending at a record high.
The YU7 is Xiaomi’s second vehicle and one that undercuts Tesla’s Model Y in price by nearly 4 per cent.
The Model Y is China’s best-selling SUV and starts at 263,500 yuan ($56,000) in China.
Financial consultant Shi*, 26, who owns a Tesla Model Y, said he was considering buying a YU7 for his father.
“At this price, it’s just really reasonable 鈥 it’s totally in the same range as Model Y,” he said.
Fatal crash leaves some concerned
Xiaomi made its first foray into car making with its SU7 EV model last year as part of a broader industry push to boost domestic consumption.
But initial enthusiasm for intelligent driving features in such vehicles was tempered by the fatal crash of a SU7 sedan in March.
The vehicle had been in assisted driving mode just before it crashed, killing three students.
The incident sparked widespread concern over autonomous driving technology and vehicle safety.
Xiaomi said at the time that initial information showed the car was in the “navigate on autopilot” intelligent-assisted driving mode before the accident and was moving at 116 kph.
In a rundown of the data submitted to local police posted on a company Weibo account, Xiaomi said the autopilot system had issued a risk warning of obstacles ahead.
A driver inside the car took over and tried to slow it down but then collided with a cement pole at a speed of 97 kph.
*Shi did not want to use his last name.