The Beijing-based electronics firm, best known for its smartphones, has made a multibillion-dollar bet on breaking into the red-hot contest in China’s EV market led by Tesla Inc and BYD Co.

It will make its SU7 series available for purchase on March 28 in 29 cities, the company said in a Weibo post, without disclosing pricing.

The foray into carmaking is led by billionaire co-founder Lei Jun, who has made it his primary focus after turning the firm’s smartphone business into one of the world’s largest. Lei, also a prolific venture investor, has called the EV endeavor his final entrepreneurial bet.

Xiaomi has partnered with state-owned Beijing Automotive Group Co for these EVs, to avoid extending the protracted wait for a manufacturing permit from domestic regulators.

The SU7 vehicles are entering a tough market, as state reimbursements for EV buyers of as much as 60,000 yuan (US$8,400) ended in 2022. The company has to vie for attention in an arena that now has hundreds of models from dozens of brands.

The SU7 name stands for Speed Ultra, and the vehicles can go from 0 to 100kmh in 2.78 seconds, Xiaomi said.