Xiaomi's EV buyers face up to 7-month wait for car, app shows

BEIJING — Xiaomi is advising would-be buyers of its new SU7 electric sedan that they could face an up to seven-month wait, its app showed on Monday (April 1), in a sign that the Chinese electronics maker is enjoying strong demand for its vehicle.

Xiaomi began allowing consumers to place orders for its SU7 electric vehicle sedan on Thursday, after it announced the prices of the car which started at US$29,870 (S$40,279). On Friday night, it said pre-orders hit 88,898 in the first 24 hours.

Checks by Reuters on Xiaomi's car app on Monday found that the firm is advising that delivery time for the company's standard SU7 model could take 18-21 weeks, the SU7 Pro model 18-21 weeks, while the most expensive model, priced at 299,900 yuan, will take 27-30 weeks.

As part of the campaign to kick off sales, Xiaomi also released two other special versions of the car called "Founder's Edition" that come with complimentary gifts, such as refrigerators. The first batch of 5,000 such cars were sold out immediately after it allowed consumers to place orders on Thursday.

On Sunday, co-founder and CEO Lei Jun, in a Weibo post said that it would open a second round of sales for the Founder's Edition, though he didn't specify the quantum.

He also said that during the ordering process for the Founder's Edition, Xiaomi identified and blocked some abnormal orders and those placed by scalpers.

Xiaomi built a Beijing factory capable of producing 200,000 cars annually before it had regulatory approval to start manufacturing in China. State-owned automaker BAIC Group disclosed in November it would make the cars for Xiaomi — at the same Xiaomi plant.

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