Xiaomi has big ambitions in the electric car sector and hopes to be one of the five largest car manufacturers in the world within around fifteen years, no less. To do this, the tech giant unveiled its first model, the SU7 electric sedan.
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4,997 mm long, it is a direct rival to the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan. Its design also seems very inspired by the lines of the German sedan. But its prices were expected at a significantly lower level. We now know more with the opening of orders for the SU7 in China.
Three versions are offered: Standard, Pro and Max. The first two are equipped with a single 220 kW rear electric motor and batteries with LFP cells of respectively 73.6 kWh (BYD Blade) and 94.3 kWh (CATL Shenxing). The SU7 Max uses two electric motors, one at the front and the other at the rear, for a combined power of 495 kW. This high-end version is equipped with a 101 kWh CATL Qilin battery.
The range reaches up to 830 km for the intermediate Pro version, but according to the very optimistic CLTC cycle, according to which a Tesla Model 3 Grande Autonomie would travel 713 km on a charge (629 km according to the WLTP cycle used in Europe) , For example. A range of 700 and 800 km is required respectively for the Standard and Max versions, according to the same approval protocol.
The high-end Max version benefits from its 800 V architecture to offer better charging times. A charge from 10 to 80% would only take 19 minutes, compared to 25 and 30 minutes respectively for the Standard and Pro versions.
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Performance is not to be outdone and allows the Standard version to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.28 s. The Pro version, probably weighed down by its large LFP battery, takes 5.7 s to complete this same exercise, while the Max version only requires 2.78 s.
Chinese prices lower than those of a Tesla Model 3
But where Xiaomi hits hardest, as usual, is by offering these high-end technical sheets at prices that are much more accessible than its competitors. Thus, the Xiaomi SU7 Standard, Pro and Max are available in China from ¥215,900, 245,900 and ¥299,900 respectively.
With a simple conversion which does not mean much, the SU7 therefore starts at the equivalent of €27,697 in China, but no marketing in Europe is announced for the moment anyway. It is rather by comparing its prices to those of Tesla that we realize Xiaomi’s masterstroke. Thus, the SU7 comes at prices that are certainly much lower than those of a Tesla Model S, but which are even more affordable than those of a Model 3. The smallest Tesla sedan is sold from ¥245,900 in China, where it is assembled, the same price as the intermediate Pro version of the SU7.
“Many people ask me who the Xiaomi SU7 was designed for. My answer is: isn’t it time for Tesla Model 3 users to upgrade?” proudly explained Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi. Success already seems to be there since the 50,000 order mark was crossed after only 27 minutes.
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