BEIJING/SINGAPORE, May 15 (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone

maker Xiaomi ( XIACF ) has become the country's eighth-largest

electric vehicle upstart after selling more than 7,000 units of

its first model, the SU7 sedan, in April, according to industry

data.

Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) strong entry into China's crowded EV market is set

to further upend the world's largest auto market, where

companies have been locked in a fierce price war amid weakening

demand. Xiaomi ( XIACF ) is already a household name in China for its

popular smartphones and home appliances.

It joins other upstarts like Nio and Xpeng ( XPEV )

as new automakers focused on EV production. The

category excludes legacy brands like Volkswagen and

established EV makers such as Tesla, BYD

and Geely.

Xiaomi ( XIACF ) sold 7,058 SU7s in April, its first full monthly

sales since the model was launched in late March, and it is

targeting more than 100,000 deliveries this year, which would

correspond to monthly average sales of 11,618 units for the

remainder of the year.

It replaced the Avatr EV brand from state-owned Chongqing

Changan Automobile as the country's eighth-biggest

EV upstart, according to Reuters' analysis of monthly sales data

from ByteDance's car information platform Dongchedi.

China's EV market has been crowded by an increasing number

of upstarts that include pure EV manufacturers such as Nio and

Xpeng ( XPEV ) as well as EV sub-brands from traditional automakers

including GAC's Aion and Geely's Zeekr.

Huawei-backed Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA)

is also among the new upstarts. Brands under the HIMA include

Aito and Luxeed and their combined EV sales totalled 20,819

units in April, according to Dongchedi data.

Some Huawei vehicles such as the Aito M5 and M9 come in both

extended-range and pure EV variants and both versions are

counted in as EVs, meaning its actual pure EV sales would be

lower than the reported figure. Dongchedi does not provide a

sales breakdown of those variants.

Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) estimated monthly sales of more than 11,000 units

for the remainder of the year also puts it in a close

competition with Volkswagen, which has fared better than most

other foreign legacy auto brands in competing with Chinese EV

players.

VW delivered 13,108 EVs in April under its ID series through

two Chinese joint ventures, with the models starting at a lower

price than Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) standard SU7 at 215,900 yuan ($29,845.59).

The market is set to turn even more bullish on Xiaomi ( XIACF ) in

coming years, according to some analysts. HSBC Qianhai forecasts

sales of the Xiaomi ( XIACF ) vehicle at 240,000 units in 2025 and 348,000

units in 2026.

Local champion BYD topped China's EV sales rankings with

120,234 units last month. Sales were largely driven by

affordable models much cheaper than the SU7.

U.S. giant Tesla netted 31,421 units in Model 3 and

Y sales in April.

Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) base model SU7 is about $4,000 cheaper than the

base model of Tesla's Model 3 in China.

As EV makers grapple with growing competition in the China

market, many are now shifting their focus to overseas markets.

China's passenger vehicle exports surging to a record high

in April, whereas domestic sales contracted 5.8% from a year

earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.

($1 = 7.2339 Chinese yuan renminbi)