The Chinese Ministry of Industry and IT has received a patent application for an electric vehicle from phone manufacturer Xiaomi. The company itself hasn’t given it a proper premiere yet. Dubbed the SU7, the battery sedan supports partial self-driving and comes with two powertrains to choose from.
According to CarNewsChina, BAIC will begin the production of the car next month. Based on its size (4,997 x 1,963 x 1,455 mm with 3,000 mm of wheelbase), it will be positioned as an alternative to the Tesla Model S.
The base Xiaomi SU7 rides on 20-inch wheels and uses a single e-motor with 299 PS (295 hp / 220 kW), as well as a LiFePo4 battery pack. The flagship version gets a more modern battery design and another motor for a combined 673 PS (664 hp / 495 kW).
The buyers will have three trim levels to decide between. The equipment list mentions an active rear spoiler, LiDAR-based semi-autonomous driving, and an infotainment system running on Xiaomi OS, the same as the company’s upcoming smartphones.
The first deliveries will be made in February 2024. The test batch is reportedly already being assembled at a factory in Beijing. Back in summer this year, the company said it would price its first EV at 150,000 Yuan (barely above $20,000) and give it roughly 800 km (500 miles) of range.
