Xiaomi Launches Its First EV, Dreams Of Becoming Automobile Leader
Xiaomi, the fifth largest smartphone producer in China, launched its first Electric Vehicle — the SU7 on Thursday, officially entering China’s overcrowded automobile sector.
Xiaomi Chief Executive, Lei Jun, outlined the company’s ambitious plans in the automobile industry aiming to become as large as Tesla and Porsche. Jun aims to see Xiaomi in the world’s top 5 automobile manufacturers in the next 15 to 20 years.
In fact, in his 3-hour-long presentation, Jun compared Xiaomi’s latest SU7 with Porsche’s Taycan Turbo and Tesla’s Model S.
The company plans to launch two models of the car, one with a range of 668 km and the other with 800 km. For comparison, Tesla’s Model S offers a range of 650 km.
It’s a new starting point for Xiaomi, and I’m convinced that one day in the future, there will be Xiaomis running on every road of this world.Lei Jun
Xiaomi has planned to invest $10 billion in the automobile domain in 2021, which seems to have started bearing fruit.
Features of the SU7
Jun’s bold statement comes with solid SU7 features to back it up.
Xiaomi promises a state-of-the-art 800-volt fast charging, which can fully charge the SU7 battery in 15 minutes.
The car will be available in three colors as of now — Mineral Gray, Aqua Blue, and Verdant Green.
Xiaomi’s expertise in the smartphone domain gives it an edge on connectivity. The SU7 has the same OS as Xiaomi phones, promising seamless connectivity with all Xiaomi phones.
The SU7 boasts a 664 horsepower electric motor option, which beats Porsche Taycan’s 616 horsepower and Tesla’s 455 horsepower. Jun also said that the company will also introduce a more powerful “HyperEngine V8s” engine.
The car can go up to 100 km/hr in just 3 seconds.
Although Jun did not disclose the exact price of the car, he suggested that the price would be “a little bit high”. However, it will be worth all that the SU7 has to offer.
Xiaomi Follows Huawei’s Suit
Interestingly, Xiaomi’s SU7 launch comes just 2 days after Huawei unveiled its Aito M9, starting at $65,750. This six-seater luxury SUV boasts more screens than seats — so much so that it is being touted as “multimedia on wheels”.
The SU7 will be produced in Beijing with an annual capacity of 200,000 units.
Its adaptive matrix LED units can transform any surface into a 100-inch screen. It also comes with a 15.6-inch central infotainment screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and a 16-inch front passenger screen along with a 75-inch head-up display.
The Aito M9 comes in two versions — one that is fully electric with a range of 630 km (391 miles), and a hybrid version with a turbocharged 1.5-liter generator.
These two promising EV launches open up new options for Chinese users beyond Tesla. However, with the economy struggling and car inventories rising, it remains to be seen how the market responds to these luxury cars.
Experts believe that the specifications and performance look promising on paper. Mark Rainford, an automobile expert, has predicted that Xiaomi’s SU7 will “sell well” in China.
