China's Xiaomi will price its Tesla EV rival under $69,400, CEO says ahead of Thursday launch

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun on Monday teased the price of the Chinese firm's first electric vehicle ahead of its official launch this week.

"The goal of the Xiaomi SU7 is to be the best looking, best driving, and most intelligent sedan under 500,000 yuan ($69,328)," Lei said in a post on Chinese social media service Weibo.

It is the first time Xiaomi has confirmed the upper end of the price range. On Thursday, Xiaomi will officially launch the SU7 electric vehicle and begin taking orders.

The car is on display across Xiaomi stores in China in 29 cities, according to another Weibo post by Lei. He said that test drives will begin on Thursday.

Xiaomi Group President Weibing Lu told CNBC previously that the company is targeting the premium segment of the electric car market.

That would pit it against the likes of Tesla in China. For comparison, Tesla's Model S sedan starts at 698,900 yuan while the Model 3 starts at 245,900 yuan.

Xiaomi will also be competing against a slew of domestic players including giant BYD, Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto, many of which are also targeting the premium end of the EV market.

Xiaomi is best-known as a smartphone and consumer electronics company. But in 2021, the company announced plans to enter the EV race. Three years later it is facing a very different electric car market in China — one that is potentially facing a slowdown and where competition is cut-throat.

The EV market is in the midst of a price war which was sparked by Tesla at the end of 2022. This has forced other electric car firms to slash prices in order to stoke demand and stay competitive, which has pressured margins and profitability across the industry.

Pricing will be key for Xiaomi in such a competitive market and one where the company has no