Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi will launch its first electric vehicle (EV) and will start accepting orders from today. Its chief executive Lei Yun said this week that the Speed ​​Ultra 7 (SU7) will be priced at just under 500.000 yuan ($69.186).

The move will see the tech giant take on rivals like Tesla and BJD. Xiaomi's entry into the electric car market comes as sales growth has slowed globally, sparking a price war.

The firm hopes that the SU7's shared operating system with phones, laptops and other devices will appeal to existing customers. Xiaomi is the world's third-largest phone vendor with a market share of around 12%, according to research firm Counterpoint.

The SU7, which Xiaomi has been preparing since last year, has drawn comparisons with Porsche's Taycan and Panamera sports car models.

"While getting this far is quite an achievement in itself, the ultimate achievement would be to demonstrate that there is a consumer market for Xiaomi as a smart electric vehicle brand," Automobility's Bill Russo told the BBC.

In a sign of the challenges facing tech firms looking to build electric cars, iPhone maker, Apple reportedly canceled its EV production plans last month. Xiaomi said it will invest $10 billion in its vehicle business over the next 10 years.