By Liam Mo and Brenda Goh
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi Corp posted a 30.5% jump in third-quarter revenue as consumers clamoured for its first electric vehicle, the SU7 sedan.
Xiaomi launched the car, which draws styling cues from Porsche, in March, entering a crowded China EV market with an attention-grabbing price tag – under $30,000 for the base model, $4,000 cheaper than the base model of Tesla’s Model 3 in China.
It raised its sales target on Monday and is now aiming for sales of 130,000 this year, far more than an initial goal of 76,000. To keep up with demand, Xiaomi has doubled production shifts since June and launched the premium SU7 Ultra model priced at more than $110,000.
Revenue came in at 92.5 billion yuan ($12.77 billion) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating an LSEG consensus estimate from 15 analysts of 91.1 billion yuan.
Huatai Securities has forecast Xiaomi will deliver 400,000 EVs in 2025 when electric cars will grow to account for roughly a fifth of revenue compared with 8% for this year.
Xiaomi’s auto business though is still operating at a loss. The unit reported an adjusted loss of 1.5 billion yuan for the quarter, with a gross profit margin of 17.1%.
During the quarter, Xiaomi maintained its position as the world’s third-largest smartphone maker with shipments of 42.8 million units, up 3% and capturing 14% of the market, according to research firm Canalys.
Xiaomi reported adjusted net profit climbed 4.4% to 6.25 billion yuan, versus a consensus estimate of 5.92 billion yuan.
($1 = 7.2438 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
