China's Xiaomi receives almost 300,000 SUV pre-orders in minutes

Beijing: Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi received almost 300,000 pre orders within an hour for its first sport utility vehicles in what the comp...

Beijing: Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi received almost 300,000 pre-orders within an hour for its first sport utility vehicles in what the company said was a "miraculous" moment for the industry.

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of the electronics-turned-car company, said he was astonished by the reaction from customers.

"My goodness, in just two minutes, we received 196,000 paid pre-orders and 128,000 lock-in orders," Lei said in a video distributed after the vehicle's launch on Thursday night.

"We may be witnessing a miracle in China's automotive industry."

The company's electric vehicle division said later on its official Weibo account that there had been 289,000 pre-orders for the five-seater YU7, priced from 253,500 yuan (about $35,000), within the first hour of sales.