Xiaomi enters China's luxury-car market with US$73,000 SU7 ‘Ultra' EV
Advertisement
The company set the price of the four-door sedan,
first unveiled in April , at 529,900 yuan (US$72,929), 35 per cent less than the 814,900 yuan quoted when presales began in October. The Ultra edition is equipped with Xiaomi's Hyper-Autonomous Driving (HAD) technology, a smart driving system unveiled in November, the company said.
Lei Jun, founder and CEO, said at a launch event on Thursday that Xiaomi received orders for 248,000 EVs in the first nine months of 2024, and delivered 135,000 vehicles during the same time.
The company also launched a smartphone, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, on Thursday. The phone and the SU7 were the most 'high-end' products Xiaomi had produced and marked the beginning of a move to 'ultra-high-end' markets, Lei said on Chinese social-media platform Sina Weibo on Monday.
'The SU7 Ultra will redefine the standards of luxury cars,' Lei said, adding that earlier this month it beat a Porsche Taycan Turbo GT to become the fastest mass-produced four-door car to lap the Shanghai International Circuit.
Advertisement
Xiaomi was 90 per cent certain that the SU7 Ultra would reach annual sales of 10,000 units, he said in another post on Wednesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China signals bolder policies to boost spending, investment as headwinds rise
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called for more action to boost consumption and investment, as the world's second-largest economy strives to meet its annual growth targets despite facing growing headwinds in the second half of the year. Advertisement '[We] should recognise the hard-won achievements and the strong resilience as well as dynamism of China's economy, reinforcing confidence, while also acknowledging the risks and challenges in the economy and the complex external environment,' he told a meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet, on Monday. Li stressed the need for measures to drive up consumption and investment, specifically mentioning the need to further stabilise the property market. The cabinet called for solid measures to consolidate the stabilising trend and unleash demand for property through urban renewal projects , including the renovation of run-down housing and 'urban villages'. The premier also called for more efforts to unleash potential consumption by removing restrictions on spending and accelerating the development of new growth drivers such as service industries and other new forms of consumption. Advertisement The government will step up its efforts to expand investment, with major projects playing a leading role in driving growth, according to the meeting.
AllAfrica
2 hours ago
- AllAfrica
Shanghai rally shows China markets don't need the West
The Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) closed at its highest level in a decade on Monday, finishing at 3,728. This is not just a local story but a global signal. Markets are often shaped by perception, and the perception now is that Asia is showing leadership at a time when many expected only caution. The SCI's 20% rebound since April is remarkable by any measure. It tells us that confidence can return quickly when conditions change. Chinese households, sitting on near-record levels of savings, have been ploughing cash into equities. The immediate trigger was President Donald Trump's decision to pause his tariff escalation with Beijing, removing a looming risk that had weighed heavily on sentiment. For months, global investors had been braced for confrontation, and the absence of fresh tariffs under a new 90-day truce released pent-up demand. What is striking is the speed of this turnaround. In April, Chinese equities were being sold off heavily and international investors were trimming exposure. But by August, the market had swung to a decade high. This kind of shift demonstrates the power of liquidity when coupled with even a modest easing of political risk. This rally is not occurring in isolation. Across Asia, momentum is building. Indian equities surged the most in more than three months on the back of tax-cut pledges. The MSCI Asia Pacific index has recently gained 0.4%, adding to signs that investors in the region are prepared to take on more risk. The synchronization is important: Asia is leaning into growth while European and US markets remain tentative as Trump makes a renewed try to end the Ukraine war. The Shanghai milestone carries global importance because of who is driving it. Local retail investors are taking the lead. Flush with liquidity, they are providing the fuel for the rally at a moment when international institutional investors remain largely cautious. This divergence matters. It shows that regional pools of capital are increasingly able to move markets on their own terms. The world can no longer assume that Wall Street sets the tone everywhere. For investors outside China, two lessons stand out. First, capital is no longer tied to a single center of gravity. The US still exerts enormous influence, but regional markets are proving capable of writing their own narrative. Second, politics has an immediate and powerful effect. Trump's tariff truce with Beijing is one of the clearest demonstrations this year that optimism returns almost instantly when barriers and uncertainty are lifted. The ripple effects are already visible. Cyclical stocks across Asia are attracting stronger bids. Oil prices are steadying, with Brent crude trading near US$81 a barrel as supply disruption concerns ease. Gold rose 0.4% as Treasuries inched higher, but safe-haven flows look vulnerable if investors continue to rotate toward equities. This is why Shanghai's rally should be seen as a leading indicator rather than a domestic quirk. Local investors are showing what happens when liquidity meets confidence: markets respond rapidly and decisively. If sentiment in Europe and the US follows the same path, we could see a broad-based re-rating of global equities into the final quarter of the year. Timing is critical. If Trump's mediated Ukraine war talks produce even a modest gesture toward progress, it would reinforce the optimism already visible in Asia. Combined with the pause in tariff escalation with China, that could provide precisely the environment in which sidelined global capital begins to move back into equities. Later this week, the US Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole retreat will give investors another focus point. Jerome Powell is widely expected to set the stage for a September rate cut after recent softer data. This tilts policy in favor of risk, but liquidity support matters little if investors are paralyzed by geopolitical concerns. The evidence from Shanghai is that once those concerns ease, capital moves swiftly. From my perspective, there are two broader conclusions. Asia has been underestimated. The assumption that it is merely a follower of Western sentiment has been challenged by a SCI rally of this scale, powered largely from within. The feedback loop between politics and markets is more immediate than ever. Every summit, truce and concession is repriced almost instantly. This volatility carries risk, but it is also where the greatest opportunities emerge. The decade-high close in Shanghai is not simply a domestic event. It's a global signal that liquidity, confidence and geopolitics are combining to reshape capital flows. International investors are paying close attention, and many will be forced to reconsider their positioning. Asia is no longer reflecting the mood of global markets. It's increasingly setting the pace.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Japan's SoftBank to invest US$2 billion in Intel as part of US push
SoftBank Group agreed to buy US$2 billion in Intel stock, a move that extends its US investment effort and offers a vote of confidence in the struggling chipmaker. SoftBank will pay US$23 a share for Intel ordinary share, according to a joint statement on Monday. The agreement, which the companies described as a move to 'deepen their commitment' to US chip innovation, will be subject to customary closing conditions. Intel shares jumped about 5 per cent in late trading after the announcement. They had closed at US$23.66 in New York after a year-to-date gain of 18 per cent. SoftBank, based in Tokyo, has been expanding its US footprint. That includes a recent deal to buy Foxconn Technology Group's electric vehicle plant in Ohio and establish a data centre project with OpenAI and Oracle dubbed Stargate. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Photo: Reuters Intel, meanwhile, is aiming to prove it can be a technology leader again after falling behind in the chip industry.
