you probably know more Xiaomiso called Apple As a Chinese manufacturer smart fone which provides a good alternative SAMSUNGYou may also know about this smart watchesRobotic vacuums, and electric scooters. Good, if often original designs, sold at competitive prices.
But do you know that it is also sold carsXiaomi Auto just jumped into the packed EV market in March 2024, yet it's already taken hold SU7An electric sedan not unlike a Porsche TaycanIt received around 90,000 orders within 24 hours of going on sale – a figure that probably makes it the fastest selling car ever.
As well as flying out the door, the SU7 also flies around the racetrack. A pumped-up version, called SU7 UltraWith over 1,500 horsepower, it set a new Nurburgring lap record, beating both in November. Rimac Nevera and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT by more than 15 seconds around the 12.9-mile course. Even more remarkably, this 6:46.9 set record On a damp track and with apparent loss of power midway through.
Photography: Xiaomi Press
Before we get too carried away, it's important to caution by saying that, yes, smartphone maker Xiaomi set a great lap time, but it did so using a stripped-down prototype that is not road legal. It is also worth telling how NIO EP9– also an electric concept – partially fast-forwarded in 2017, and volkswagen The ID.R holds the outright electric lap record at 6:05.3.
Back to the street-legal SU7. The car sold so well at launch that Xiaomi Auto has raised its 2024 delivery forecast three times Since, from an initial target of 76,000 to 130,000 by mid-November.
According to Chinese auto industry expert Mark Rainford, that revised figure is “even higher.” XPeng Despite selling cars for the past six years and operating in multiple international markets, it managed to make deliveries by September. Also in November, Xiaomi reported a 30.5 percent increase in third quarter revenue.
Even Ford boss likes Xiaomi
But don't just look at sales figures. Ford CEO Jim Farley recently admitted to driving a Xiaomi car in the US, and after six months he didn't want to return it. speaking on everything electric show podcast In October, Farley said: “Everyone was talking about the Apple Car. But Xiaomi cars, which exist now and are fantastic—they sell for 10,000, 20,000 per month. They have been sold out for six months. It is an industrial juggernaut, and [it comes from] A consumer brand that is much stronger than the car companies.”
“I don't like to talk about the competition so much,” Farley continued, “but I run Xiaomi. We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I've been running it for six months now, and I don't want to give it up.
Photography: Xiaomi Press
Chinese EV market Incredibly crowded, but Xiaomi's first entry stands out due to its premium styling (even if it appears to be borrowed somewhat from the Taycan) and low price. SU7 pricing starts at under $30,000, which puts it $4,000 below Tesla model 3 in China. Even the hypercar-powered SU7 Ultra looks well-priced, with the production version set to cost around $112,500 when it goes on sale in March 2025.
With only one model in production, Xiaomi will already be looking to make full use of its own 20,000-car-per-month factory — a rarity among auto startups, which typically spend the vast expense of manufacturing cars in a bid to Prefer to outsource to others. To overcome the growing pains, Elon Musk once called it “production hell.”
There is no dearth of Chinese electric car companies lining up to compete with Tesla. BYD has come closest in terms of absolute sales, while a resurgent MG under new Chinese ownership has seen success undercutting Tesla in the UK market. Of course, prohibitive tariffs mean Chinese-made cars aren't viable, or indeed welcome, in the US — and remember, this includes vehicles built in China by brands elsewhere, such as mini cooper And the Aceman, and the Polestar 2, at least until production comes online in the UK and US.