Xiaomi has made significant progress in the automotive industry with the launch of its first electric car. The Xiaomi SU7 will be officially launched in China on March 28th, and customers can start test driving it from March 25th.
In a personal Weibo post on March 13th, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun announced the official launch of the Xiaomi SU7 on March 28th. He also confirmed that pre-orders for this car are still increasing and have already exceeded 100,000, indicating strong demand for Xiaomi’s first electric car.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun introducing the SU7 electric car at an event in late December 2023
Currently, the official price of the Xiaomi SU7 has not been announced, and users will have to wait until March 28th for it to be revealed. However, some rumors suggest that Xiaomi is targeting the mid-range and high-end market segments with the SU7, with prices expected to range from 250,000 to 370,000 Chinese yuan (approximately 858 million to 1.27 billion Vietnamese dong).
Unlike the direct sales model used by other emerging car manufacturers in China, Xiaomi’s electric car sales will include both directly-managed Xiaomi stores and authorized 2S (Sales & Service) stores. Xiaomi has signed a cooperation agreement with 14 first-hand sales and service partners on December 29th at its headquarters in Beijing.
An internal document shows that Xiaomi employees have priority in purchasing and receiving the SU7 car. Additionally, employees of other brands under Lei Jun’s management also have priority to purchase the first batch of Xiaomi SU7 cars. According to Sina Technology, Huanju Group, a company formerly under Lei Jun’s management, has registered for priority purchase of the car this week.
The latest image of the Xiaomi SU7 fleet in the factory, ready to be delivered to customers from the end of March
The current concern for Xiaomi is production capacity. “The initial production capacity is not enough. We have many channels for pre-orders, but the delivery time is still an issue,” an employee of Xiaomi admitted to Sina Technology.
In fact, this has been a long-standing concern for Lei Jun himself. The long waiting time could negatively impact Xiaomi’s reputation if not effectively addressed. In an interview last year, CEO Lei Jun said, “I am worried that if everyone buys a car and has to wait one or two years, our reputation will be affected.”
It is expected that the production capacity will reach 2,000 units in March, with a plan to exceed 10,000 units per month by July.
