Xiaomi denies report of YU7 SUV launch delay, Lei Jun to skip Shanghai auto show

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Xiaomi on Wednesday denied a report that the launch of its highly-anticipated YU7 had been delayed and said the electric SUV would still go on the market in June or July, as CEO Lei Jun had earlier announced.

Wang Hua, the head of Xiaomi’s public relations department, said on his personal Weibo account that the launch date “had not been changed.”

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Xiaomi would not start selling the YU7 electric SUV in June or July and that a new launch date had not been confirmed.

Xiaomi disappointed fans and analysts last week by announcing that it would not showcase its upcoming YU7 electric SUV, a highly anticipated would-be challenger to Tesla’s best-selling Model Y, at the Shanghai auto show.

The Chinese tech giant was the star of last year’s auto show in Beijing, where it brought its then-just announced SU7 sedan. It has taken a lower-key approach this year, opting not to hold a press conference and only showing off its SU7 and SU7 Ultra models.

Lei, Xiaomi’s billionaire founder who stole the limelight with a crowd of cameras following his every move at last year’s Beijing show, was absent from Shanghai as the show opened.

A Xiaomi spokesperson said on Wednesday that Lei would not attend the Shanghai show, citing a scheduling clash. “He still follows the Shanghai auto show and promotes the auto show on his Weibo,” the spokesperson said.

The company was thrust into controversy last month after a fatal accident involving an SU7 that caught fire after hitting a roadside pole at a speed of 97 kph (60 mph) while its advanced driving assistance system was on, killing the driver and two other passengers.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Jamie Freed)