BEIJING, July 9 (Reuters) - China's Xiaomi ( XIACF ) on

Thursday unveiled an SUV series named Sky Nomad, accelerating

the technology company's push into automobiles as growth slows

in its mainstay smartphone market.

The extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) series, branded

Xiaomi Pengcheng in Chinese, will comprise "smart, versatile,

spacious" SUVs, CEO Lei Jun said on his Weibo micro-blog account

along with a teaser poster of one of the vehicles.

EREVs are a type of plug-in hybrid that sit between

conventional petrol-electric hybrids and battery-only vehicles,

using a combustion engine as a generator to extend battery

driving range.

Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) announcement represents expansion beyond

battery-powered sedans and crossovers into a category

popularised by models from automakers such as Li Auto ( LI ).

With its SU7 sedan and YU7 crossover, Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) EV business

has become a revenue pillar over the past two years.

The consumer electronics firm expanded into cars in search

of new revenue drivers as growth slowed worldwide in the mature

smartphone and home appliance markets.

However, the auto business remains costly for the tech firm

due to the heavy investment needed and narrower profit margins.

Xiaomi ( XIACF ) pitches its cars as a high-tech Chinese alternative

to models from Tesla, pitting its SU7 and YU7 lines

against the U.S. EV maker's Model 3 and Model Y.

As of the end of June, Xiaomi ( XIACF ) had delivered 258,232 YU7

crossovers in China since the model's June 2025 launch, compared

with 471,207 Model Y vehicles sold in the country over the same

period, showed data from auto information and trading platform

DCar.

Xiaomi ( XIACF ) has locked-in orders for existing models but faces a

slowing domestic market and has yet to export its vehicles,

unlike many domestic peers. The company plans to launch vehicles

in Europe next year.

"They (car owners) want their car to be a second home. For

them, a car is not merely a means of transport but another

moving space," Lei said.