Xiaomi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its charismatic CEO Lei Jun said on his Weibo account, where he has 26.8-million followers, he would answer questions raised after the YU7 launch in a live-streaming event on Wednesday.
Xiaomi made a huge splash in China’s EV market with the launch of its first vehicle, the SU7 sedan, in March last year. While early buyers of the SU7 initially faced waits of up to seven months it has outsold Tesla’s Model 3 in China every month since December.
The company has been grappling with a consumer backlash since a fatal crash involving an SU7 in March. It has also faced complaints about the confusion surrounding vehicle delivery times, as well as optional features.
The YU7 is Xiaomi’s second model and priced from 253,500 yuan (R623,052), nearly 4% less than Tesla’s Model Y, now China’s best-selling SUV. Lei has been open about how Xiaomi wants to challenge Tesla’s Model Y for the top spot.
Xiaomi has been ramping up output at its Beijing plant and plans new factories on two plots of land nearby. Monthly output has increased to 28,000 units in May from 4,000 units last March.