China’s fifth-largest smartphone maker Xiaomi on Thursday launched its first electric vehicle, the SU7, officially entering China’s crowded auto sector.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun outlined the company’s ambitious plans in the auto industry, aiming to become as big as Tesla and Porsche. Jun said that within the next 15 to 20 years, he aims for Xiaomi to be among the top five car manufacturers in the world.
In fact, during his three-hour presentation, Jun compared Xiaomi’s latest SU7 with Porsche’s Taycan Turbo and Tesla’s Model S.
The company plans to release two models with a cruising range of 668 km and a cruising range of 800 km. For comparison, Tesla’s Model S has a range of 650 km.
This is a new starting point for Xiaomi, and I am sure that in the future, Xiaomi will be on every road in this world.Lei Jun
Xiaomi plans to invest $10 billion in the automotive sector in 2021, and it looks like that is starting to bear fruit.
Features of SU7
Jun’s bold statement comes with solid SU7 features to back it up.
- Xiaomi promises state-of-the-art 800-volt fast charging that can fully charge the SU7 battery in 15 minutes.
- There are currently three colors available: Mineral Grey, Aqua Blue, and Verdant Green.
- Xiaomi’s expertise in the smartphone field gives it an edge in connectivity. SU7 is equipped with the same OS as Xiaomi smartphones and promises seamless connectivity with all his Xiaomi smartphones.
- The SU7 boasts a 664 horsepower electric motor option, which beats the Porsche Taycan’s 616 horsepower and the Tesla’s 455 horsepower. Jun also said the company will also introduce more powerful “HyperEngine V8s” engines.
- The car reaches 100 km/h in just 3 seconds.
Jun did not reveal the exact price of the car, but suggested that the price “will be a little high.” However, you get all the value the SU7 has to offer.
Xiaomi follows suit against Huawei
Interestingly, Xiaomi’s SU7 launch comes just two days after Huawei announced the Aito M9 starting at $65,750. His six-seater luxury SUV has more screens than seats, which is why it’s being touted as “multimedia on wheels.”
SU7 has an annual production capacity of 200,000 units in Beijing.
The Adaptive Matrix LED unit can transform any surface into a 100-inch screen. It also has a 15.6-inch central infotainment screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 16-inch passenger screen and a 75-inch head-up display.
The Aito M9 is available in two versions: an all-electric version with a range of 630 km (391 miles) and a hybrid version with a turbocharged 1.5-liter generator.
The launch of these two promising EVs gives Chinese users another option besides Tesla. However, it remains to be seen how the market will react to these luxury cars, as the economy is weak and car inventories are increasing.
Experts believe that the specifications and performance look promising on paper. Automotive expert Mark Rainford predicted that Xiaomi’s SU7 would “sell well” in China.