China’s Xiaomi takes aim at Tesla, staking 23% lower price on premium SUV

Xiaomi, one of Tesla’s biggest challengers in mainland China over the past year, has priced its newest cars at a 23 per cent discount to the US carmaker’s Model Y L SUV amid intensified competition in the country’s premium electric vehicle (EV) segment.Beijing-based Xiaomi announced on Thursday that the five-seat N70 Max model under its new extended-range SkyNomad series would sell at 259,900 yuan (US$38,474), while the seven-seat N90 Max would start at 299,900 yuan, with deliveries of both models expected to start in September. Tesla’s Model Y L, built in Shanghai, starts at 339,000 yuan.Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said at a launch event that the smartphone vendor and EV start-up had spent three and a half years developing its Kunlun architecture for assembling the new cars. He added that the new vehicles would have “off-road capabilities while offering users expansive interior space and flexibility in reconfigurable seating”.