Credit：Xiaomi

Xiaomi unveiled its first production electric vehicle (EV) model SU 7 at an event on Thursday, 1,003 days after the Chinese firm announced its EV-making plan. “Xiaomi’s goal is to make a dream car comparable to (those from) Porsche and Tesla,” founder and CEO Lei Jun said during his more than two-hour presentation. Lei explained SU stands for Speed Ultra in a post on the social media platform X earlier this week. While Lei said SU7 isn’t built to chase any specific competitor, the executive suggested the smart sedan will compete with the Porsche Taycan and Tesla’s Model S.

The event focused on cutting-edge technologies that empower SU7, instead of the product release. Xiaomi underlined five core technologies in the EV era, including the e-motor, the battery, the hyper casting, the autonomous driving and the smart cabin. Xiaomi has engineered the SU7 to offer a level of driving performance that stands among the best in its class, including the Porsche Taycan Turbo, and has prioritized intelligent technology, drawing inspiration from the advanced systems in cars like the Tesla Model S, Lei Jun said. He noted choice of making a sedan reflects Xiaomi’s vision for car manufacturing: technology plus ecosystem and advanced mobile smart space. SU7 is positioned as a C-class high-performance tech ecosystem sedan.

According to the Catalogue of New Energy Vehicle Models Exempt from Vehicle Purchase Tax (the 72nd  batch) released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in October, SU7 series will be adopted two different types of batteries: one is the lithium iron phosphate battery made by BYD’s subsidiary Fudi Battery Co., Ltd, and another is Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL)’s ternary lithium battery. The SU7 series are set to be powered by HyperOS, Xiaomi’s new operating system rolled out late October. The vehicles will be made in its own facility and the production qualification was provided by Beijing Automotive Group Off-road Vehicle Co.,Ltd., a unit of Chinese state-owned auto manufacturer Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. (BAIC Group).

At the event Thursday, Xiaomi showcased the basic version SU7, namely, the rear-wheel-drive variant, backed by BYD’s LFP battery, has a single electric motor, with the peak power of 220kW and the maximum speed of 210km/h. The battery allows vehicles to go 668 km under CLTC (China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle) standard on a charge and take 5.28 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h. The CATL battery-powered premium variant will be a dual-motor setup that combines the front motor and the rear motor, which enables the vehicle to drive as fast as 265km/h. Moreover, it has a zero to 100km/h acceleration time of just 2.78 seconds, beating the Porsche Tycan Turbo, and officially join the “2 seconds Supercar Club” with a single step. The CATL battery, with a capacity of 101 kWh, delivers a CLTC range of 800 km.

One of performance highlights is that SU7 has the lowest drag coefficient of only 0.195 Cd, the lowest among production models in the world. The sedan is based on in-house Modena Architecture with HyperEngine electric motors of up to 21,000rpm. The chassis is stamped by Xiaomi’s super die casting machines with a clamping force of 9,100 tons, outweighing that of Tesla. Another highlight is the smart cabin, which consists of a 16.1” central control screen with 3k resolution, the 56”HUD, or Head-Up Display, a 7.1” instrument panel for the driver, and two screens in the rear for passengers, which are Xiaomi tablets called Mi Pads. The cockpit operation system HyperOS is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295. Lei Jun said even iPhone users can tap into some of the Xiaomi car features, with support for for wireless CarPlay and AirPlay connectivity as well as iPad-mounting for rear passengers.

SU7 is equipped with Xiaomi ’s self-developed autonomous driving technologies. The automated driving system (ADAS), Xiaomi Pilot, is powered by two Nvidia Orin-X chips with 508 TOPs computing power. The self-driving technologies are developing very fast, and for Xiaomi, starting late has its advantages as the company can work from a higher threshold and build from there, Lei Jun said. He stated the investment in the first phase for Xiaomi’s full-stack intelligent driving technology totaled RMB3.8 billion, and the company has  invested RMB4.7 billion more in the technology. Xiaomi aims to complete autonomous driving tests in 100 cities across China by the end of 2024, and become the leading player in the autonomous driving sector in the same one-year period.

Xiaomi announced in March, 2021 to set up a wholly owned subsidiary to make EVs, with the initial investment of RMB10 billion and the total input in the coming decade expected amount to US$10 billion. Lei Jun said in March that his company aims to become one of the top five automakers in the world within the coming 15 to 20 years. He then revealed late October that the company plans to launch its car in the first half of next year, without giving any details. In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) earlier this month, Lei said Xiaomi  invested in 3,400 engineers and the research and development (R&D) spending totaled more than RMB10 billion. He added that Xiaomi has input out-sized resources in its first EV model, ten times of that traditional automakers invest in a model.

At Tuesday’s event, Xiaomi offers three colors for SU7 including Aqua Blue, Mineral Gray and Verdant Green. It didn’t disclose launch timetable or price tag. Lei Jun reiterated Xiaomi wants to turn into the top five automobile club in the world in the next 15 to 20 years. He ruled out the low pricing. It’s impossible to set a price of RMB99,000 or RMB149,000, Lei said. He noted vehicles powered by batteries with the same specs as SU7 are sold for more than RMB400,000 at average.  “Let’s show respect for the underlying technology ,” Lei said.At the post on X this week, Lei Jun said SU7 is in trial production and it will hit the domestic market in a few months. “The price has not been finalized yet, but we promise it will exceed your expectations,” according to Lei.

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