Xiaomi Automobile, the battery electric vehicle (BEV) unit of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, delivered its first batch to customers this week.

The Beijing based company’s newly launched SU7 electric sedan was delivered to buyers in 28 cities across the country as China’s newest BEV maker stepped up its sales drive in an increasingly competitive domestic market where rival automakers are offering increasingly deep discounts to attract customers.

SU7 prices start at CNY216,000 (US$30,000) for the 830km (515 miles) range model.

Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said the company had received 100,000 reservations for its first car model with confirmed orders of 40,000 units.

At a delivery ceremony in Beijing this week, Lei said the high level of orders for the SU7 reflected strong consumer confidence in the brand.

Xiaomi said it had been working on bringing additional production capacity onstream amid concerns the company might not be able to keep up with the order intake.

Xiaomi recently urged suppliers to lift component production with the company, targeting monthly output of 10,000 units, with demand for high end models such as the SU7 Max said to be particularly strong.

The company’s original plan was to lift output from an initial 3,000 units in March to around 5,000 units in April.

Total deliveries this year were expected to come in at between 60,000 and 80,000 units with current delivery times for confirmed orders ranging between 20 and 31 weeks, depending on specification.

The Xiaomi SU7 BEV