Xiaomi SU7 spotted testing on track, preorders to start in December

Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan was spotted doing internal testing on Zhejiang International Circuit in Shaoxing, about three hours drive south of Shanghai. The car is covered in fancy red-white-black camo, and the active rear spoiler is raised high.

Moreover, Xiaomi will hold a conference later in December where SU7 will be officially unveiled, and pre-orders will start. The conference date hasn’t been revealed yet, but the Chinese media pointed out that December 27 will be the 1000th day since Xiaomi announced it would build a car.

Xiaomi SU7 will be the first EV made by the smartphone giant, which announced it is joining the car manufacturing race in 2021 on March 30. The company made a bold statement of investing 10 billion yuan (1.4 billion USD) into the projection of the first phase and will start mass production of its first car in the first half of 2024.

Last month, it was revealed that Xiaomi will use state-owned BAIC as its contract manufacturer. That is pretty common for EV startups in China. For example, Xpeng cars were initially built by Haima, and JAC originally made Nio cars.

In December, local media reported that Xiaomi SU7 entered the fifth stage of production line verification (PT5) in the BAIC Beijing factory in the Yizhuang area. The factory plans to complete 300 trial vehicles in December and prepare for mass production in early 2024.

Moreover, Xiaomi is preparing to launch three new models in 2024. First, the SU7, codenamed Modena and later Le Mans all-electric vehicle (BEV) and Kunlun, plugin hybrid (PHEV).

Xiaomi SU7 is an electric sedan with dimensions 4997/1963/1455 mm and a wheelbase of 3000 mm. The powertrain has two options: the RWD with 220 kW motor and AWD with 495 kW maximum power (220 kW + 275 kW). The LFP battery pack comes from BYD for cheaper trim and ternary NMC from CATL for a more expensive option.

The curb weight is 1,980 kg, and the lower trim’s op speed is limited to 210 km/h. The curb weight for the top trim model is 2,205 kg, and the top speed is 265 km/h.