China's Xiaomi to launch new SUV next summer amid rising demands

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BEIJING, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Chinese electronics maker Xiaomi 1810.HK said on Monday that it expects to launch its first SUV, the YU7, in June or July next year, as it ventures deeper into China's competitive auto market.

The company announced the launch on China's social media platform Weibo alongside an image of the YU7 parked beside its first electric vehicle $(EV)$, the SU7 sedan, with the two cars sporting similar designs.

The launch comes after Xiaomi last month raised its EV delivery target for the third time to 130,000 units this year to meet surging demand.

The smartphone and electronic device maker entered China's crowded EV market in March with the launch of the SU7 series, a Porsche look alike starting at less than $30,000.

In October, the company unveiled a luxury variant of the SU7, priced to rival Tesla's TSLA.O Model S Plaid, while touting its performance with a record lap time at Germany grueling Nurburgring track.

Xiaomi reported a 30.5% jump in its third-quarter revenue this year, surpassing analysts' estimate.

China's car sales grew at its fastest pace since January last month, boosted by government-subsidised auto trade-ins.

(Reporting by Ethan Wang, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo, Editing by Louise Heavens)

((yukun.zhang@thomsonreuters.com;))