Thousands of car lovers and company representatives descended on Beijing this week for the Auto China show -- a chance for industry giants to show off new designs and cutting edge technologies aimed at getting ahead in the fiercely competitive sector

The Chinese market alone is crucial: it’s the world’s biggest with sales of 22 million vehicles last year, according to the China Passenger Car Association

Xiaomi's first electric vehicle, the SU7, will be priced under $70,000, according to Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, in a recent statement. Jun added that the Xiaomi SU7 aims to be "the best looking, easiest to drive and smartest car" available in the market under the 500,000 yuan ($69,424) price tag.