Following the immediate success of its first electric car, China’s Xiaomi made another splash on Thursday when chief executive Lei Jun announced the company had received more than 10,000 orders for its highly anticipated supercar just two hours after the launch.
The smartphone maker had aimed to sell that number of its SU7 Ultra sportscars, priced from RMB 529,900 ($72,702), over the course of this entire year, according to a sales outlook that Lei posted on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo a day before the launch event.
During a press conference in Beijing, Lei said that the company is looking to “redefine premium cars for this generation” with a combination of performance features that compete with Porsche, technological functions similar to Tesla, and a level of luxury comparable to BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi (our translation).
Why it matters: The 10,000 order milestone reflects a growing recognition that Xiaomi could have a transformative impact on the automobile market, with its SU7 Ultra positioned to deliver practicality and performance at less than half the price of Porsche’s Panamera.
- Analysts from Citic Securities estimated the annual sales of the luxury sedan could surpass 50,000 units this year — far more than those secured by the likes of the BMW M2 and the Porsche 718/911 in China last year — thanks to its aggressive pricing.
- In a note sent to clients on Thursday, the Chinese brokerage expected the car to mainly appeal to three groups of customers: Xiaomi brand loyalists, Chinese performance car enthusiasts, and customers of practical luxury cars at a price tag of about RMB 500,000.
Details: The launch of the SU7 Ultra surprised analysts and journalists on Thursday when Xiaomi said it would start at around RMB 500,000, a third less than the pre-sale price estimate of RMB 814,900.
- This put the car at half the price of the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz AMG GT, and into the range of business and family models such as the BMW 5 series and Audi A6.
- The standard version has three electric motors to give it a combined 1,548 horsepower and a maximum torque of 1,770Nm, giving it an acceleration of 100 km/h (62 mph) in 1.98 seconds, and making it capable of traveling more than 350 kilometers per hour.
- Xiaomi said the standard version is suitable for racing competitions. It is powered by a high-voltage, 93.7 kilowatt-hour (KWh) battery pack provided by China’s CATL, capable of driving up to 630 kilometers (392 miles) on a single charge, while carbon-ceramic premium brake discs enable the car to complete 10 consecutive 180km/h-0 brake tests without fading.
- The road-legal race car boasts a striking balance between excitement and everyday comfort, using a range of carbon fiber parts, including the steering wheel and mirror covers, to ensure the car’s performance, durability, and style while featuring front seats with heat and massage functionalities.
- Xiaomi said it will introduce an RMB 814,900 limited-edition model named after Germany’s Nurburgring racetrack, where an SU7 Ultra prototype set a record lap time of 6:46.874 minutes last October and became the fastest four-door car in the world.
Context: Xiaomi reported deliveries of more than 135,000 SU7 sedans last year, which went on sale last March and compete with Tesla’s Model 3 at a starting price of RMB 215,900.
- The Chinese tech giant has announced it will launch its second car, the YU7, this June or July, a model that is expected to rival Tesla’s best-selling Model Y crossover and serve as another growth driver, TechNode reported.
- Several Chinese auto majors have launched similar offerings hoping to establish their presence in the luxury car segment, including BYD’s Yangwang U9, the Zeekr 001 FR from Geely, and GAC’s Hyper SSR supercar.
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