Waiting up to seven months for smartphone maker Xiaomi’s first EV

It looks like enthusiasts who want to buy Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi’s first electric car, the SU7 sedan, will need the patience of a saint for some versions. Delivery times can stretch up to seven months due to the surprise demand already present in the first hours of pre-ordering. In less than 24 hours, nearly 90,000 were ‘sold’ according to the Reuters news agency.

Last Thursday, pre-sales opened in China, with prices starting at 215,900 yuan (€27,800). According to Xiaomi, 50,000 orders were already taken in the first 27 minutes. By the end of the day, the counter clocked 88,898 orders.

Founders edition sold out instantly

The first to be delivered in April is a limited Founders Edition of the SU7, equipped with some nice-to-have extras like a mini-fridge of 4.6 liters, which can hold up to 6 cans of Coke. The 5,000 units, which were the same price as the Standard and Max versions, sold out instantly.

The standard 2WD variant of the Xiaomi SU7 is powered by a 73.6 kWh Blade battery from BYD and offers a CLTC range of 668 km. It’s currently 30,000 yuan (€3,860) cheaper than a Tesla Model 3 in China (245,900 yuan).

The basic version is built on Xiaomi’s in-house developed Modena architecture on a regular 400 V platform. The higher versions have 800 V technology. The rear-wheel-drive versions get a 220-kW motor and 400 Nm of torque, enabling the base version to sprint to 100 km/h in 5.28 seconds.

The Pro version has 275 kW and 438 Nm, respectively, and does slightly better at 4.68 seconds. This one has a CATL Shenxing Battery with a capacity of 94.3 kWh and a CLTC range of 830 kilometers. It starts at 245,900 yuan (€31,666), the same price as the Tesla 3.

100 kWh Qilin battery

As the name suggests, the top of the range is the Xiaomi SU7 Max. It is a dual-motor, four-wheel drive variant with CATL’s 101 kWh Qilin Battery, good for a CLTC range of 800 kilometers. The motors deliver a peak power of 495 kW and a peak torque of 838 Nm. It needs only 2.78 seconds to reach 100 km/h and has a top speed of 265 km/h.

However, for this one, you will have to pay 299,900 yuan (€38,620), and waiting times are already 27 to 30 weeks, according to the company’s dedicated car app. The standard version may take 18-21 weeks, and the Pro version may take 18-21 weeks.

Smartphone technology

Xiaomi, being a smartphone maker itself, supports Bluetooth-connected Apple CarPlay and iPad connectivity to ensure a good car experience for Apple users. Apple dreamed of becoming a groundbreaking EV maker itself but ditched its plans after pouring billions of dollars for a decade into its Titan project for a decade.

Inside, the SU7 presents a rather conventional dashboard for the first car of a smartphone maker. Of course, there are screens everywhere, but the infotainment uses a 16.1-inch 3K screen, while all driving information is centered on a 7.1-inch instrument cluster and a large head-up display projecting 56 inches. The rear seats also get a pair of screens, which are Xiaomi Mi Pads tablets.

Fraternal support

Piquant detail: according to Chinese media, William Li, founder and chairman/CEO of NIO,  He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xpeng, and Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Li Auto, were all present at Xiaomi’s launch event. Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, said the three of them have given him a lot of advice over the past three years to avoid ‘mistakes.’

The Xiaomi SU7’s European debut was held in February at the 2024 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona (Spain), which is more of a natural ‘habitat’ for a smartphone and electronics giant with 20 million users in its homeland. This way, it actually made a public debut in Europe before China. Still, no official plans for deliveries in Europe have been communicated yet.