Finance

Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi delivers 20,000 SU7 EVs in October

Published

4 months ago

October 30, 2024

Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi on Tuesday announced a sports car version of its SU7 electric sedan would begin preorders for the equivalent of more than $110,000.

Luna Lin | Afp | Getty Images

BEIJING — China’s Xiaomi said Tuesday that it had delivered more than 20,000 SU7 EVs in October as it ramps up production for its electric car venture in a fiercely competitive market.

The Chinese company, which is largely known for its smartphones and home appliances, reiterated plans to deliver 100,000 SU7 vehicles by the end of November. Xiaomi first revealed plans to make cars in 2021 and began building a dedicated manufacturing plant the same year.

The company released the basic version of the SU7, its first car, in late March for about $4,000 less than Tesla‘s cheapest car — Model 3 — in China at the time. Tesla subsequently cut the car’s price by about $2,000. Xiaomi has delivered more than 75,000 SU7 cars to date, including October’s figures.

Chinese rivals Xpeng and Nio took about six years to produce 100,000 electric cars, while it took Tesla 12 years.

While Xpeng delivered a monthly record of more than 20,000 cars in September, with about half the sales owed to its newly launched, lower-cost brand Mona, Nio has struggled to keep monthly deliveries above 20,000 cars.

Zeekr, an electric car brand founded by automaker Geely, has claimed it produced more than 100,000 vehicles in 1.5 years. It delivered a record 21,333 cars in September.

Data on other Chinese electric car companies’ deliveries for October is expected Friday.

Tesla doesn't need a low-end vehicle to continue to grow, says Oppenheimer's Colin Rusch

“News of 20k deliveries in October confirms that [Xiaomi] is going to be a force to reckon with in the world’s largest EV market,” said Brian Tycangco, an analyst at Stansberry Research.

He said Xiaomi’s electric car gross profit margins in August were similar to Xpeng’s that month, and have likely improved since, given ramped up production.

Xiaomi on Tuesday also announced it was taking preorders for the high-end sports version, SU7 Ultra, starting at 814,900 yuan ($114,304), ahead of a product release in March 2025. The company claimed that within 10 minutes, it received more than 3,600 preorders, each requiring a 10,000 yuan deposit.

The new model and its touted achievements on the Nurburgring race track in Germany will likely help Xiaomi sell more of its premium SU7 Max car, which costs just 299,900 yuan, Citi analysts said in a report. They now expect Xiaomi to deliver 250,000 cars next year, up from 238,000 previously forecast.

Xiaomi claimed a prototype of the SU7 Ultra this week became the fastest four-door sedan to complete the German race track.

Citi analysts increased their price target on Xiaomi to 30.60 Hong Kong dollars ($3.94), up from 22.70 HK dollars. They also raised forecasts for the company’s smartphone shipments, following the launch of Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 15 device Tuesday — the first phone to use Qualcomm’s newest chipset.

Xiaomi

Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling battery-powered electric car in China in September with 48,202 vehicles sold, according to data from Chinese car industry site Autohome. The Model 3 ranked 8th with nearly 24,000 cars sold.

BYD’s lower-priced models accounted for most of the other top 10 bestsellers in the battery-only category. Xiaomi’s SU7 ranked 17th last month with 13,559 cars sold, the data showed.

Xiaomi currently only sells its cars in China. The company told CNBC earlier this year it would take at least two to three years for any overseas launch.

— CNBC’s Sonia Heng contributed to this report.

Finance

BRK, HOOD, NKE, PLTR and more

Published

50 minutes ago

February 24, 2025

Business Finance News

Finance

Berkshire advances on surge in earnings, but questions linger about cash

Published

5 hours ago

February 24, 2025

Business Finance News

Warren Buffett walks the floor ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska on May 3, 2024.

David A. Grogen | CNBC

Berkshire Hathaway shares got a boost after Warren Buffett’s conglomerate reported a surge in operating earnings, but shareholders who were waiting for news of what will happen to its enormous pile of cash might be disappointed.

Class A shares of the Omaha-based parent of Geico and BNSF Railway rose 1.2% premarket Monday following Berkshire’s earnings report over the weekend. Berkshire’s operating profit — earnings from the company’s wholly owned businesses — skyrocketed 71% to $14.5 billion in the fourth quarter, aided by insurance underwriting, where profits jumped 302% from the year-earlier period, to $3.4 billion.

Berkshire’s investment gains from its portfolio holdings slowed sharply, however, in the fourth quarter, to $5.2 billion from $29.1 billion in the year-earlier period. Berkshire sold more equities than it bought for a ninth consecutive quarter in the three months of last year, bringing total sale of equities to more than $134 billion in 2024. Notably, the 94-year-old investor has been aggressively shrinking Berkshire’s two largest equity holdings — Apple and Bank of America.

As a result of the selling spree, Berkshire’s gigantic cash pile grew to another record of $334.2 billion, up from $325.2 billion at the end of the third quarter.

In Buffett’s annual letter, the “Oracle of Omaha” said that raising a record amount of cash didn’t reflect a dimming of his love for buying stocks and businesses.

“Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities,” Buffett wrote. “That preference won’t change.”

He hinted that high valuations were the reason for sitting on his hands amid a raging bull market, saying “often, nothing looks compelling.” Buffett also endorsed the ability of Greg Abek, his chosen successor, to pick equity opportunities, even comparing him to the late Charlie Munger.

Meanwhile, Berkshire’s buyback halt is still in place as the conglomerate repurchased zero shares in the fourth quarter and in the first quarter of this year, through Feb. 10.

Some investors and analysts expressed impatience with the lack of action and continued to wait for an explanation, while others have faith that Buffett’s conservative stance will pave the way for big opportunities in the next downturn.

“Shareholders should take comfort in knowing that the firm continues to be managed to survive and emerge stronger from any economic or market downturn by being in a financial position to take advantage of opportunities during a crisis,” said Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust Company and a Berkshire shareholder.

Berkshire is coming off a strong year, when it rallied 25.5% in 2024, outperforming the S&P 500 — its best since 2021. The stock is up more than 5% so far in 2025.