Xiaomi receives almost 300,000 SUV pre-orders in minutes

Xiaomi YU7. Handout

BEIJING, China — Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi received almost 300,000 pre-orders within an hour for its first sport utility vehicles in what the company said was a "miraculous" moment for the industry.

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of the electronics-turned-car company, said he was astonished by the reaction from customers.

"My goodness, in just two minutes, we received 196,000 paid pre-orders and 128,000 lock-in orders," Lei said in a video distributed after the vehicle's launch on Thursday night.

"We may be witnessing a miracle in China's automotive industry."

The company's electric vehicle division said later on its official Weibo account that there had been 289,000 pre-orders for the five-seater YU7, priced from 253,500 yuan (about $35,000), within the first hour of sales.

Xiaomi's Hong Kong-listed shares soared eight percent at one point before paring their gains but ending at a record high.

The Beijing-based commercial tech giant made its first foray into car-making with its SU7 EV model last year, part of a broader industry push to boost domestic consumption.

Initial enthusiasm for intelligent driving features in such vehicles was tempered by the fatal crash of a Xiaomi SU7 in March. The vehicle had been in assisted driving mode just before it crashed, killing three students.

Premier Li Qiang used the World Economic Forum in Tianjin this week to outline China's ambition to become a "major consumption powerhouse", emphasising policies to stimulate demand for high-value goods such as electric vehicles.