Hong Kong-listed shares of Xiaomi fell 1% in midday trading Monday amid a broader decline in shares of electric vehicle makers. The Chinese smartphone company said it has identified a consumer niche that will pay up for its upcoming electric car.
'We think it's a good starting point for us in the premium segment because we have already 20 million premium users in China based on the smartphone,' Weibing Lu, Xiaomi Group President told CNBC ahead of the car's international reveal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which starts Monday. 'I think the initial purchases will be very overlapped with the smartphone users,' Lu said. Shares of Chinese EV maker Nio fell nearly 5%, while Xpeng shed nearly 1%.