They are premium smartphone users in China
Xiaomi's president said the company is targeting 20 million premium smartphone users who are potential buyers of the manufacturer's electric vehicles.
«We believe this is a good starting point for us in the premium segment because we already have 20 million premium smartphone users in China — Xiaomi Group President Weibing Lu told CNBC ahead of the car's international presentation at MWC in Barcelona. — I think that initial purchases will largely be made by users of such smartphones».
He said the company was considering a wide range of prices, from entry-level to luxury, for the car it is spending $10 billion developing.
Xiaomi introduced its Xiaomi SU7 electric car in China at the end of December, but has not yet announced a specific price. Lu said the official release will happen «very soon» and noted that deliveries to the domestic market will begin in the second quarter.
According to Lu Weibing, in 10 or 20 years, the electric vehicle market will likely be very similar to the smartphone market today: the top five brands will occupy about 70% of the market: «Without huge funds, we don't think that we can get to the final».