On February 3, a photo of a suspected collision involving the Xiaomi SU7 circulated online, sparking widespread attention and quickly trending on the hot search list. The photo shows the accident vehicle parked on the side of the road in rainy and snowy weather, with varying degrees of damage to the right headlight, front bumper, and side fender, with the right front headlight being particularly severely damaged. In response, a Xiaomi Group employee, who declined to be named, told a reporter from “Daily Economic News,” “The relevant situation is still unclear, and we are still waiting for information.” There are reports that the accident vehicle is still in the testing phase, and the rear-end collision occurred due to the failure to change tires in icy and snowy road conditions, but no personal injuries were reported. However, this information has not been officially confirmed. On the same day, February 3, Xiaomi Group founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun posted on his personal Weibo account that the Xiaomi SU7 is undergoing comprehensive road testing nationwide and is currently in the final stages of preparation for its launch. In fact, since the debut of the Xiaomi SU7 on December 28, 2023, road test photos of the Xiaomi SU7 have been continuously exposed. On January 29, Lei Jun responded to netizens’ messages about the Xiaomi SU7’s road testing. “We have deployed multiple batches of test vehicles for road testing, all of which were camouflaged before the launch event, and only the uncamouflaged versions were deployed after the event,” Lei Jun said.
According to the plan, the Xiaomi SU7 will start mass production and be on the market in the first half of 2024. “The official launch of the Xiaomi SU7 car will take a few more months because the company still needs to do a lot of testing to ensure its release. In fact, our cars have already been produced in small batches, and we still need a few more months to do a lot of validation testing,” Lei Jun explained at the Xiaomi Car Technology Conference. From the declaration of “fighting for Xiaomi cars” by Lei Jun, Xiaomi officially entered the smart electric car industry. Lei Jun once said, “This is the last major entrepreneurial project of my life. I am willing to stake my entire reputation and personally lead the team to fight for Xiaomi cars”! On the evening of February 3rd, Lei Jun announced, “In order for me to focus more on the car business, the company has decided that Lu Weibing, the group president, will also serve as the general manager of the Xiaomi brand, and he will also be the main speaker at future Xiaomi phone launch events.” At the same time, he also stated that Wang Teng will take over as the general manager of the Redmi brand.
The Xiaomi SU7 has always been a focus of attention in the industry, especially its price, which has sparked numerous speculations. Recently, a netizen analyzed the price of the top-of-the-line Xiaomi SU7 based on previous insurance company inquiries and claimed it to be 361,400 yuan (50750$). However, Xiaomi has denied the claim of the 361,400 yuan (50750$) price limit and stated that the final price will be announced at the product launch event.
As the countdown to the launch of Xiaomi SU7 begins, Xiaomi’s domestic channel layout has been initiated. On December 28, 2023, Xiaomi Group officially signed a cooperation intention agreement with the first 14 sales and service partners at its headquarters in Beijing. In addition, Xiaomi’s “Open City Recruitment Plan” has been announced, with 17 cities currently open for recruitment, including Suzhou, Chongqing, Ningbo, and Nanjing. The recruitment is for Xiaomi car sales and service integrated stores, which include new car sales and authorized after-sales service, but not vehicle resale and delivery functions. Xiaomi Car’s sales model integrates Xiaomi Group’s new retail system experience, creating a new retail model for cars. Xiaomi Car’s “sales, delivery, and service” channel will prioritize covering the top markets with a phased layout nationwide, according to Xiaomi Car. According to Lei Jun’s plan, Xiaomi’s first car model plans to sell 100,000 units in the first year, and deliver a total of 900,000 units in the following three years, aiming to enter the industry’s top tier by 2024. “Xiaomi Car will become one of the top five global car manufacturers through 15 to 20 years of effort,” Lei Jun stated. Cover image source: Daily Economic News, File photo