Xiaomi takes aim at Tesla in Chinese auto market

Latest offering: A Xiaomi SU7 on display at the company's store in Shanghai. The EV will go on sale in 211 stores across 39 Chinese cities by end of this year. — Bloomberg

BEIJING: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi launched a sporty electric car with styling cues drawn from Porsche and priced below Tesla’s Model 3, highlighting the stiff competition from new entrants in an already crowded electric vehicle (EV) market in China.

During the two hour-long event, Xiaomi chief executive officer and founder Lei Jun told a packed room whose attendees included the bosses of Chinese EV makers Nio and Xpeng that the standard SU7 EV model will be priced at 215,900 yuan ($29,872.02), while the Pro and Max versions will cost 245,900 yuan and 299,900 yuan respectively.