Tech giant Xiaomi shifts gears to auto, unveils first electric car
XIAOMI unveiled its first electric vehicle, the SU7, yesterday, a key step for the tech giant’s car-business expansion and its ambition to become one of the world’s top five automakers.
The sedan, dubbed the SU7 with the SU short for Speed Ultra, is a highly anticipated model that Chief Executive Lei Jun touted as having “super electric motor” technology capable of delivering acceleration speeds faster than Tesla cars and Porsche’s EVs.
The SU7, with two models having a range of 668 and 800 kilometers (compared with Tesla Model S’s 650km), will officially debut “several months later.”
Pricing has yet to be announced. Lei said the cost would “indeed be a bit high, but one that will have everyone thinking it is justified.”
“By working hard over the next 15 to 20 years, Xiaomi will become one of the world’s top 5 automakers,” Lei said in a conference broadcast online.
Those plans include building “a dream car comparable to Porsche and Tesla,” he added.
The new car has several core technologies, including autonomous driving and smart cabin tech. Lei also introduced the SU7’s design team with members coming from companies such as BMW and Mercedes Benz.
The SU7 is also expected to appeal to customers due to its shared operating system with Xiaomi’s popular phones and other electronic devices. Its drivers will have seamless access to the company’s existing portfolio of mobile apps.
“Xiaomi is a well-established consumer electronics brand with hundreds of millions of ‘Mi Fans,’ or members of its smart device ecosystem,” said Bill Russo, CEO of Shanghai-based advisory firm Automobility.
“As such, they have a significant opportunity to break through as the automobile becomes a smart device.”
Xiaomi has invested over 10 billion yuan (US$1.41 billion) in the auto business and has a team of 3,400 engineers.
Amid one of the coldest Decembers for China on record, the SU7 was also being positioned to appeal to consumers worried about winter. Lei said it had fast-charging capabilities in low temperatures and is equipped with advanced tech allowing it to recognize obstacles under challenging conditions such as falling snow.
The autonomous driving capabilities of Xiaomi cars would be at the forefront of the industry, he added.
Its cars will be produced by a unit of state-owned automaker BAIC Group in a Beijing factory with an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles.
China’s fifth-largest smartphone maker has been seeking to diversify beyond its core business to EVs amid stagnating demand for smartphones — a plan it first flagged in 2021. Other Chinese tech companies that have partnered with automakers to develop EVs include telecoms giant Huawei and search engine firm Baidu.
Xiaomi’s car faces competition from domestic rivals BYD, NIO and Xiaopeng, and Tesla, of course, said analysts.
(Shanghai Daily/Reuters)