BEIJING — Shares of China's Xiaomi surged as much as 16% on Tuesday as the electronics maker's sporty electric vehicle launched last week drew strong interest, though a brokerage forecast the firm would lose nearly $10,000 per car this year.
Xiaomi's SU7 — short for Speed Ultra 7 — enters a crowded China EV market with an attention-grabbing price tag — under $30,000 for the base model, cheaper than Tesla's Model 3 in China. The company, which earns the majority of its $37.5 billion revenue from selling smartphones, has already produced 5,000 SU7 vehicles it dubbed the"Founder's Edition" that it says come with additional accessories for early buyers.
Xiaomi has said it expects to lose money on the SU7, and some analysts predict the loss would be substantial.