The Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi unveiled its much-anticipated first foray into electric vehicles on Thursday, debuting a luxury sedan called the Xiaomi SU7 that the company said took more than three years and $1.5 billion invested to be developed.

With a starting price and release date still pending, the SU7 is Xiaomi’s opening salvo into the increasingly crowded Chinese electric vehicle space. The company has Tesla squarely in its sights, claiming better acceleration and autonomous driving abilities than a Porsche Taycan or Tesla Model S.

The billionaire co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi, Lei Jun categorized this push into the EV market as the “final major entrepreneurial project” of his life.

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“By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, we will become one of the world’s top 5 automakers, striving to lift China’s overall automobile industry”, Lei commented during the event.

The launch kicks off Xiaomi’s bid to leverage its tech savviness into a share of China’s massive market for electric cars – a locality that is on pace to be the world’s largest in terms of demand. Early production of the SU7 is underway and sales are slated to begin in early 2024 in China.

Here is a closer look at Xiaomi’s first EV challenger to Tesla and other electric vehicle heavyweights.

Sleek Luxury Sedan Takes Aim at Premium Market

The four-door Xiaomi SU7 sedan revealed in Beijing has the elegant lines and stylish comforts of a high-end flagship vehicle.

With dimensions close in size to Tesla’s top-tier Model S, the sleek Xiaomi model seems to be targeting the premium segment of China’s EV market. It boasts either 19 or 20-inch wheels with hefty tires, adaptive LED matrix headlights, frameless doors, and tinted privacy glass.

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The company is angling to match if not leapfrog benchmark luxury electric vehicles on both technology and performance at what is expected to be a more affordable price point.

“Xiaomi’s goal is to make a dream car that is as good as Porsche and Tesla,” Lei told reporters during an event held this morning.

Advanced Tech Inside and Out

As a consumer electronics innovator, Xiaomi developed the digital features of the SU7 to pair seamlessly with owners’ smartphones, smart home devices, and other internet-connected platforms.

The company says that it created a new smart operating system from scratch dubbed HyperOS to bridge mobile technology with automotive capabilities.

Biometric face recognition enables keyless entry and startup. Meanwhile, assisted driving features include hands-free highway piloting with 360-degree sensing.

Top-Notch Performance Pegged to Rival’s Top Models

While the SU7’s pricing remains unannounced, Xiaomi made bold claims that the SU7 beats rival top models Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan Turbo on critical performance metrics, an impressive feat for any automaker.

Company officials said that their EV sedan bests the Taycan Turbo’s 0-100 km/h acceleration by 0.2 seconds and the Model S by 0.3 seconds, making it one of the fastest production vehicles in the world. The SU7 also shaves up to almost 100 kilograms off the rivals’ weight.

Xiaomi boasted a top speed of 260 km/h for the top-tier version of the vehicle. Maximum driving range approaches 628 km according to data obtained by CarNewsChina. The advanced HyperEngine V8 electric motor was engineered in-house to achieve new benchmarks in compact size and high rotational speeds up to 27,200 rpm.

Xiaomi is Expected to Offer Competitive Prices to Undercut Rivals

Despite premium styling, performance, and top-notch components, Xiaomi is likely to significantly underprice competing luxury models from the likes of Tesla (TSLA), Porsche, and Mercedes based on hints from company executives.

Industry analysts expect that the SU7 may hit the market somewhere near the $60,000 mark before local electric vehicle subsidies are applied. While not cheap, that would vastly improve affordability over rivals like the Model S which sells for around $100,000 in China.

Xiaomi’s CEO has said the company aims to offer consumers high-end technological experiences at accessible pricing. That strategy has proven hugely successful in the smartphone arena.

Leveraging its supply chain relationships and operational efficiencies, Xiaomi is betting that it can pull off a similar trick in the electric vehicle space. However, it remains to be seen if a company with zero track record in the automotive industry can deliver a working product that competes with its highly specialized rivals.

Unlike some EV startups struggling to scale manufacturing, Xiaomi already has production lines ready to churn out up to 200,000 SU7 vehicles per year in a Beijing factory complex operated by the state-owned BAIC Group.