On the afternoon of April 18, Xiaomi Automobile Chairman Lei Jun started a live broadcast to introduce the delivery center and experience center located in Beijing and interact with netizens. The number of viewers has remained above 100,000 since the start of the live broadcast, once again attracting a wave of attention.
Since its launch at the end of March, Xiaomi Automobile has been attracting a lot of attention. While achieving remarkable results, it has also faced criticisms. Especially as it enters the delivery phase, both consumers and industry insiders have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Xiaomi SU7.
"Xiaomi Automobile is really popular, so much so that I worry every day. The public testing has begun, and everyone is scrutinizing every small detail." Lei Jun said.
Delivery time extends up to 32 weeks
Xiaomi Automobile's "breaking the mold" reflects Xiaomi's long-standing marketing prowess. As Zhou Hongyi, the founder and chairman of 360 Group, put it, "Xiaomi's marketing is done well because Lei Jun has taken what is common and ordinary in the industry, things that everyone should know, and repackaged them to tell users."
Twenty days after the end of the launch event, Lei Jun once again started a live broadcast, which is one of the ways to maintain attention. However, making cars is always a "marathon," and after the excitement of the "Mi fans," product quality and production capacity will determine whether Xiaomi Automobile can sustain the transformation of "traffic" into sales.
"I think we still need to seriously grasp the quality of manufacturing, deliver the cars well, and provide good user service." Lei Jun also mentioned this during the live broadcast.
According to industry sources, the cancellation rate for Xiaomi SU7 orders is around 55%.
Lei Jun stated on social media that if Xiaomi Automobile changes configurations, users need to requeue, which is fairer for all users. "The delay in delivery time depends on the locking time of your current order. Even if you lock in early and have a relatively high position, the delivery period will significantly increase due to successful configuration changes, and configuration changes cannot be reversed." This move is also seen as a way to reduce the cancellation rate.
On April 15, reporters from Caixin visited the Xiaomi Automobile store located in Beijing He Shenghui. Compared to the bustling scene at the time of sale, the customer flow that day had returned to normal. Due to the small size of the store, the number of consumers who came to view the display cars was fewer than the adjacent Wenjie store.
"The delivery time is about half a year," a salesperson told reporters. Reporters found that some consumers had already given up due to the long delivery time.
Sales staff told reporters that Xiaomi Automobile has already locked in orders for 60,000 units. According to its official website, the delivery time for the standard version of Xiaomi SU7 is about 28-31 weeks, 27-30 weeks for the SU7 Pro version, and 29-32 weeks for the SU7 Max version.
During the live broadcast, Lei Jun said, "The core issue is that the sales volume is 3-5 times higher than we expected. A week ago, we held an emergency supplier conference. The original plan was to deliver the standard version and the PRO version at the end of April, but in fact, delivery has already begun today, 12 days ahead of schedule."
Recently, Citigroup released a research report predicting the delivery volume of Xiaomi Group's first car product, the SU7.
The report predicts that in April, the delivery volume of Xiaomi SU7 will reach 5,000 to 6,000 units, and the annual delivery volume is expected to be between 55,000 to 70,000 units.
According to Citigroup's forecast, Xiaomi will lose an average of 6,800 yuan for each SU7 sold in 2024, with the entire car manufacturing business expected to lose as much as 4.1 billion yuan. This data reflects the financial pressure Xiaomi faces when entering the car market.
The report also stated that the waiting time for Xiaomi SU7 has already been extended to 6 months. If production capacity cannot be effectively increased to meet market demand, Xiaomi may face growth issues similar to those of Xiaopeng G6 last year.
Regarding this report, on April 15, Xu Jieyun, special assistant to the chairman of Xiaomi Group and deputy general manager of the China Market Department, responded that this information may have a significant deviation. It is understood that this report from Citigroup's automotive analyst was issued on April 2 and may underestimate the popularity of Xiaomi SU7. Over the past few weeks, Xiaomi's orders have continued to increase, and efforts are being made to increase delivery capacity.
Industry sources revealed that the production capacity of Xiaomi SU7 has started to increase, with a daily output exceeding 400 vehicles, corresponding to a monthly capacity of at least 12,000 vehicles. Xiaomi Automobile's factory is planned to have an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles. At the same time, suppliers have been asked to increase capacity to produce 10,000 vehicles per month, with a focus on high-specification models.
Delivery issues exposed, continuous friction with "friendly competitors"
Although Lei Jun believes that Xiaomi SU7 is "definitely successful" in the "first phase," within just 20 days, Xiaomi Automobile has frequently appeared in the public eye due to various problems.
Issues such as paint peeling off before delivery, insurance premiums comparable to 500,000 yuan fuel vehicles, and questions about brake pad area have surfaced, leading Lei Jun to admit on social media that "the pressure is very high." Xiaomi Automobile has also released 20 episodes of "Xiaomi SU7 answers to netizens' questions."
Reportedly, on April 4, a netizen in Shenzhen, Guangdong, posted that they had purchased a Xiaomi SU7 Pioneer Edition car, which had already peeled off before delivery.
On the 7th, the person involved explained that when the car arrived, they were told that there was a paint chip on the front hood due to a collision during transportation. They were compensated with 5,000 points and asked to accept normal delivery after the paint was repaired. The person refused, and the other party proposed a solution to compensate up to 20,000 points, not support replacing the new car, and unable to refund the deposit for returning the car.
Regarding the issue of Xiaomi SU7 insurance premiums being close to those of more than 500,000 yuan fuel vehicles, Xiaomi Automobile stated on April 6 that commercial insurance terms for new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles are different. The exclusive terms for commercial insurance for new energy vehicles provide protection for the "three-electric" system and comprehensively cover driving, parking, charging, and operating scenarios. The premium prices are calculated comprehensively based on factors such as new/old cars, brands, models, registration types, types of insurance, and coverage amounts, and cannot be simply compared based on car prices. On April 11, Xiaomi's car division faced public scrutiny again, this time over brake pad area issues.
Xiaomi Automotive explained that this arose from mistakenly comparing the brake pad area of a certain high-end model with the standard configuration of Xiaomi cars. In reality, Xiaomi cars were designed with full consideration of brake performance and safety factors, and the brake pad area complies with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Additionally, friction persists between Xiaomi Automotive and its competitors.
At the April 8 launch event for the Zhi Ji L6, the Zhi Ji team incorrectly labeled an important parameter of Xiaomi's SU7 MAX. Xiaomi promptly issued three statements that evening to refute Zhi Ji's claims and clarify its own technical specifications.
On April 11, regarding the "Xiaomi SU7 original mobile phone holder," Yu Chengdong, Chairman of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, jokingly remarked, "At first, I couldn't understand why some cars still need to use mobile phone holders, but later I realized it's because their in-car navigation system is not good enough, so they need to use mobile navigation."
On April 16, a Jiyue Auto employee revealed that they were dismissed by their former company for violating a non-compete agreement after purchasing the Xiaomi SU7 Founder's Edition.
Of course, as a newcomer, Xiaomi Automotive has also invited numerous veterans from the automotive industry to support it. From the presence of the founder of "Wei Xiao Li" at the launch event to a recent livestream where Lei Jun connected with Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motors. "We've been in this industry for 30 years, and you've been in it for 3 years. Your performance is already very impressive," Wei Jianjun praised.
