A Xiaomi unit has won a tender to buy a plot of land in Beijing close to its existing car factory for 635 million yuan ($88 million), which it plans to use for a smart connected car and components project, a city regulator said on Thursday.
The win for a 50-year lease to the 485,134 square metre-large plot of land was announced by Beijing's municipal planning and natural resources commission.
The land plot is close to the second phase of Xiaomi's EV factory. Xiaomi Jingxi Technology, winner of the tender on Thursday, secured the second phase that covers an area of 531,130 square metres for 842 million yuan in July 2024. The project reached its final stage in April.
The tender win would make Xiaomi one of the few automakers in China approved to expand capacity while the majority of the sector is grappling with overcapacity.
Xiaomi said its new YU7 sports utility vehicle is getting more attention than the SU7 sedan and on its app, buyers have to wait up to 51 weeks to pick their Xiaomi cars as the company ramps up output.
Xiaomi, the world's third-largest smartphone maker, launched the SU7 sedan last year and has outsold Tesla's (TSLA.O) Model 3 on a monthly basis since December.
The SU7's success is seen expediting the company's EV bid despite intense competition in the world's largest auto market.
Xiaomi raised its target for EV deliveries this year to 350,000 from 300,000 earlier this year. The company had planned an annual output of 300,000 vehicles in its EV factory to be built in two phases.
It will take orders for the YU7 at the end of June, CEO Lei Jun said on Wednesday. The YU7's release was earlier set for July.
($1 = 7.1869 Chinese yuan renminbi)
