Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi unveils first electric car

Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi unveiled its first electric car model on Thursday (Dec 28), with its boss declaring ambitions of becoming one of the world's top five automakers.

Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi unveiled its first electric car model on Thursday (Dec 28), with its boss declaring ambitions of becoming one of the world's top five automakers.

The sedan, dubbed the SU7 with the SU short for Speed Ultra, is a highly anticipated model that chief executive Lei Jun touted as having "super electric motor" technology capable of delivering acceleration speeds faster than Tesla cars and Porsche's EVs.

But the car - likely to go on sale in several months - is making its debut at a time when China's auto market - the world's largest - is wrestling with a capacity glut and slowing demand that have stoked a bruising price war.

That didn't stop Lei from outlining big ambitions.

"By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, we will become one of the world's top five automakers, striving to lift China's overall automobile industry," he said at the unveiling.

Those plans include building "a dream car comparable to Porsche and Tesla", he added.