This Thursday, Xiaomi officially presented the Xiaomi SU7, its first electric car. It is a sedan that boasts a maximum speed of 265 km/h, acceleration from 0 to 100 in 2.78 seconds and a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. Truly surprising figures in relation to other electric vehicles available on the market. But that is not all.
Lei Jun, founder of the brand, has assured that they have invested just over 1,000 days in the development of this first car. A figure that is also surprising considering Xiaomi’s starting point – it is its first vehicle – and, also, the periods that are usually necessary for the development of a car from scratch.
The Xiaomi SU7 is just the first stone of the construction. Lei Jun wants, in a few years, the company to be recognized as one of the world’s five largest automobile manufacturers. A major aspiration considering both the complexity of the business and the multiple local and international competitors that it will have to face –BYD, Tesla, Volkswagen, Toyota, etc.–.
The main features of the Xiaomi SU7
The Xiaomi SU7 has batteries of 132 kWh and 150 kWh capacity, signed by BYD and CATL. To put these numbers in context, the Tesla Model S Plaid – the most advanced electric car from the company led by Elon Musk – has a 100 kWh battery.
The brand assures that both batteries will allow you to travel up to 1,200 kilometers on a single charge, far surpassing the most popular proposals in the West. For example: the standard Tesla Model S, according to CLTC approval (the Chinese version of the WLTP used in Europe to measure the range of a vehicle), offers 715 km of range.
It is worth remembering, however, that installing a larger battery implies an increase in the weight of the vehicle, which influences other aspects such as acceleration capacity, braking distance or driving dynamics. Likewise, such a battery requires more advanced charging and preheating systems to deliver an optimal experience at all times. Therefore, it will be important to pay attention to these aspects when the vehicle starts rolling on the streets and closely evaluate the different solutions adopted by Xiaomi so that the extra weight of the battery does not influence the rest of the areas mentioned.
Regarding motorization, the Xiaomi SU7 will arrive with HyperEngine V6 and V6S units, capable of delivering 220 kW (295 HP) and 275 kW (368 HP), respectively. The first of them will have a RWD (rear-wheel drive) configuration, while the second will have an AWD (all-wheel drive) configuration.
The brand has also taken advantage of the occasion to show two other engines it is currently working on. The first of them, called HyperEngine V8, has 425 kW (570 HP) and would hit the market in 2025. The other is still in the development phase, but Xiaomi assures that it will be capable of reaching 35,000 rpm.
A design inspired by Porsche and Tesla
The Xiaomi SU7 is aesthetically reminiscent of the Porsche Taycan, the German brand’s first electric car. Especially in the front area, with the air inlets prior to the wheel arches, and in the side view. The car can be purchased, by the way, in only three colors: Aqua Blue (blue), Verdant Green (green) and Mineral Gray (gray).
When it comes to the construction of the chassis, Xiaomi has implemented two technologies. On the one hand, CTB (Cell to Body), which allows the battery to be better integrated into the Xiaomi SU7 chassis, increasing the total available space and rigidity. On the other hand, the Asian brand has worked on the development of a system similar to Tesla’s Gigacasting, by which larger pieces are generated using a pressing machine, reducing the total number of pieces and simplifying production.
Inside, the Xiaomi SU7 will be dominated by a Heads-Up Display, large screens – two in the front area and two in the back – and, of course, the HyperOS operating system, presented by the Chinese brand a few months ago. –and that little by little it is reaching many of their mobile phones–. To move the interface and the system, the brand has opted for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip.
Finally, Xiaomi has also implemented autonomous driving systems based on LiDAR, computer vision and processing from Nvidia, who has been working on systems of this type for years. This autonomous driving, as the brand has shown, will be capable of performing all types of tasks: from parking without any passengers on board to avoiding complex obstacles while driving.
Xiaomi SU7 launch: date and price
Xiaomi, for the moment, has not wanted to give details about the prices, although it has opened the reservation process for the first units, known as Founder’s Edition. These will be delivered in February 2024.
For the moment, yes, the Xiaomi SU7 will only be sold in China, the brand’s native country. The brand has not given any details about the possible international expansion of the vehicle, but considering the regulatory differences between the various regions, it seems difficult that, at least in the short term, we will see it circulate on European roads.