Xiaomi Raises EV Delivery Goal Amidst Strong Demand

Smartphone and electronics maker Xiaomi boosted its target for electric vehicle deliveries this year to 130,000 after saying last week it had met an earlier goal of 100,000, as strong EV sales contributed to a 30.5 percent rise in revenues in the third quarter.

The Beijing-based company reported revenues of 92.5 billion yuan ($12.8bn, £10bn) for the quarter ended September, beating analysts’ estimates.

Adjusted net income for the quarter rose 4.4 percent year-on-year to 6.3bn yuan.

The company’s “smart electric vehicles and other new initiatives” segment bringing in 9.7bn yuan in revenues, after Xiaomi launched its SU7 sedan in March.

EV demand

The firm said it delivered 39,790 of the SU7-series vehicles during the quarter.

The company launched its SU7 vehicle with a base price of about $4,000 cheaper than the Tesla Model 3, a move that has helped it to gain traction in China’s crowded EV market.

EV and hybrid plug-in sales in China grew by 56.7 percent year-on-year in October, outselling petrol-powered cars for the fourth consecutive month.

Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said the company’s Beijing factory can produce 20,000 cars each month after the firm doubled production shifts in June.

“Our investment is still very substantial and we continue to improve our hardware and software,” he said on a call with analysts.

“We are still investing very heavily. We are working on (research and development) for new models.”

Smartphone recovery

He said Xiaomi is working on autonomous driving technology, amongst other areas.

The company’s auto unit made an adjusted loss of 1.5bn yuan for the quarter, with a gross profit margin of 17.1 percent.

Xiaomi’s core business of smartphones and “artificial intelligence of things”, which includes connected devices and lifestyle products, brought in 82.8bn yuan for the quarter, up 16.8 percent.

The global smartphone market grew by 5 percent in the quarter, according to Canalys.

Xiaomi held its position as the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor during the period, after Samsung Electronics and Apple, shipping 42.8 million units, up 3 percent year-on-year to hold 14 percent of the market, Canalys said.