The Xiaomi SU7 will officially launch on March 28 and already the car is on static display in 60 stores across 29 Chinese cities. Speculation is mounting though that the first batch of customers could actually receive the cars on the day of launch or just a few days later. Meanwhile Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun has been talking more about the idea behind the SU7 and the appearance of the charger has been leaked.
A New Consumption Daily reporter noted seeing a small number of Xiaomi SU7 cars at the Shenzhen Bao’an Airport Delivery center. Lei Jun the CEO of Xiaomi wants to revolutionize the approach to selling cars which has added to the speculation that deliveries will begin on March 28 or very shortly afterwards. He said recently “The entire automotive industry has a relatively long new car release cycle, from the first release to the official launch, as long as half a year. The prices are announced at the official launch of the product. Xiaomi SU7 has only 3 months from the technical release to the product launch. We plan to announce the prices at the launch on March 28th, and the process is fast.”
Customers will need to make a reservation on an App after the price is announced on March 28. It is reported that they will need to put down a 5000 yuan (700 USD) deposit and there will be a 5 day cooling off period during which they can get a refund. Staff at the Shenzhen store indicated that deliveries in Beijing would be faster due to the factory being there.
At launch only two versions of the car will be available, the standard version and the Max version. The Max version adds features like dual motors, air suspension, Lidar, active tail wing, electric suction doors, HUD and various other improvements over the base car. A Pro and Pro+ version may be later added positioned between the two launch models.
Not all options are currently known but we do know that the car comes with a choice of 19, 20 or 21-inch wheels and there are at least eight body color options. The seats as standard are nano cloth but can be upgraded to Nappa leather.
After the press conference on March 28 the car will officially launch and appointments will open in the stores with display models.
Recently the charger for the Xiaomi SU7 leaked thanks to the app. Xiaomi users only need to scan a QR code on the charger to complete the binding, and check the charging order in the app. Furthermore, the design is very stylish. Both the body and cable are white with the body being a rounded vertical rectangle with the words Xiaomi printed vertically, the charging head is black. The whole effect is very much like a charger for a phone or electrical device.
Xiaomi SU7 cars can charge from 10% to 80% in 20 minutes and add 510 km of range in 15 minutes. The SU7 Max uses Xiaomi’s self-developed 800V silicon carbide high-voltage platform.
In a recent interview Lei Jun said “The goal of Xiaomi SU7 is to be the best-looking, best driving, and smartest sedan within 500,000 yuan (69,250 USD).” Many people may question why Xiaomi chose to make a sedan for its first car but Lei Jun said that the market size is almost the same as for SUVs and that the driving experience is far better for a sedan.
Xiaomi’s CEO is very confident about the ability of the company to produce a car “Intelligence is the soul of the car, and Xiaomi, as a technology company and one of the world’s top three smartphone companies, has the strongest advantage of intelligent technology,” he says. Xiaomi’s capabilities in consumer electronics, operating systems, chips and AI put the company at a distinct advantage compared to traditional car makers. Many of them have chose to buy in the technology but Lei Jun thinks that can be a problem. “Choosing a smart electric car, in essence, is choosing the strength of intelligent technology, you have to believe that this brand has enough ability, enough determination to continue to do a good job in intelligent technology, from this point of view, Xiaomi is definitely one of the best car manufacturers in the world,” he says.
Editor’s note:
The Xiaomi SU7 is going to be the car to watch this year. Lei Jun seems very confident about creating a great car and the choice of going the contract manufacturing route is shrewd as it means that the company does not have to go through a Tesla like production hell to ramp up production and learn how to build a car.
Sources: Fast Technology, Autohome, Fast Technology, Autohome
wait. They have not formally even priced the car and its ready for delivery !!!
They will announce the price on Thursday (March 28). It will be then immediately available purchase with deliveries possibly beginning even that day or within 4-5 days afterwards. Certainly it seems the first cars will reach customers in April.