Xiaomi, the fifth largest smartphone producer in China, has officially joined the crowded automobile sector by launching its first Electric Vehicle — the SU7.
The company’s Chief Executive, Lei Jun, has set ambitious goals for Xiaomi in the automobile industry, aiming to compete with the likes of Tesla and Porsche and become one of the top 5 automobile manufacturers worldwide in the next 15 to 20 years.
During a 3-hour-long presentation, Jun compared Xiaomi’s latest SU7 with Porsche’s Taycan Turbo and Tesla’s Model S.
The company plans to launch two models of the car, one with a range of 668 km and the other with 800 km, exceeding the range of Tesla’s Model S, which offers a range of 650 km.
Lei Jun expressed his confidence in the company’s future, saying, “It’s a new starting point for Xiaomi, and I’m convinced that one day in the future, there will be Xiaomis running on every road of this world.”.
Xiaomi has committed to investing $10 billion in the automobile domain in 2021, and the launch of the SU7 is a clear indication of its progress in this area.
Features of the SU7
Jun’s bold statement comes with solid SU7 features to back it up:
- Xiaomi promises a state-of-the-art 800-volt fast charging, which can fully charge the SU7 battery in just 15 minutes.
- The car will be available in three colors as of now — Mineral Gray, Aqua Blue, and Verdant Green.
- Xiaomi’s expertise in the smartphone domain gives it an edge on connectivity. The SU7 has the same OS as Xiaomi phones, promising seamless connectivity with all Xiaomi phones.
- The SU7 boasts a 664 horsepower electric motor option, which surpasses the horsepower of Porsche Taycan and Tesla’s Model S. There are also plans to introduce a more powerful “HyperEngine V8s” engine.
- The car can accelerate up to 100 km/hr in just 3 seconds.
While the exact price of the car remains undisclosed, Jun suggested that the price would be “a little bit high”, but the features offered by the SU7 would make it worth the investment.
Xiaomi Follows Huawei’s Suit
Interestingly, Xiaomi’s SU7 launch comes just 2 days after Huawei unveiled its Aito M9, a six-seater luxury SUV boasting more screens than seats, making it a “multimedia on wheels”.
The SU7 will be produced in Beijing with an annual capacity of 200,000 units.
Its adaptive matrix LED units can transform any surface into a 100-inch screen, and it also features a 15.6-inch central infotainment screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and a 16-inch front passenger screen along with a 75-inch head-up display.
Similarly, the Aito M9 comes in two versions — a fully electric version with a range of 630 km (391 miles), and a hybrid version with a turbocharged 1.5-liter generator.
These two promising EV launches open up new options for Chinese users beyond Tesla.
