Chinese smartphone and gadget giant Xiaomi has unveiled a much-anticipated electric vehicle (EV), the SU7, and a range of related technologies as it aims to take on leading domestic and foreign players such as Tesla and Porsche in a fiercely competitive market.
The SU7, revealed on Thursday, features a sleek look and a sports-car level of performance in two versions, the single motor SU7 and dual motor SU7 Max. It is powered by Xiaomi’s HyperEngine electric motor – with up to 21,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) – and batteries from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), offering a driving range of up to 800 kilometres.
By comparison, Tesla’s Model S Plaid and Porsche’s Taycan Turbo have motors with 20,000rpm and 16,000rpm, respectively. Xiaomi did not elaborate on pricing for the SU7 line or the precise launch date.
“Our goal is to build a vehicle that matches up to Porsche and Tesla [models], a dream car for the new era of the automobile industry,” said Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s billionaire founder and CEO at the launch event in Beijing. He added that the company will strive to become a top five global carmaker in the next 15 to 20 years.
However, Xiaomi will be joining a crowded sector. China is the world’s largest automotive and EV market with sales of battery-powered vehicles accounting for nearly 60 per cent of the world’s total. But massive research and development costs for new models, heavy spending on marketing, as well as price cuts offered to lure customers, have made it difficult for most carmakers to post a profit.
On Tuesday, Aito, an EV brand backed by smartphone rival Huawei Technologies, said it had booked 54,000 orders for its flagship sport-utility vehicle M9 since presale began on September 25, with the first batch of cars likely to be delivered in late January.
Founder Lei Jun suggests Xiaomi is ready to take on Elon Musk’s Tesla
Founder Lei Jun suggests Xiaomi is ready to take on Elon Musk’s Tesla
Xiaomi said its SU7 will have a top speed of 265 kilometres per hour, with the EV taking 2.78 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100kph.
Lei Jun said the firm’s next generation of motors – with 27,200rpm – will be used in Xiaomi vehicles by 2025, and that it had lab-tested a motor with up to 35,000rpm.
“Xiaomi will keep investing in the development of electric motors and strive to become the global leader in this area,” Lei told the audience at Thursday’s event.
Xiaomi also unveiled an autonomous driving system that consists of sensors such as lidar – light detection and ranging – and an artificial intelligence large language model that can work together to deliver a range of autonomous driving features.
These include self-parking and rush-hour driving assistance. Lei said Xiaomi has invested 4.7 billion yuan (US$658 million) and has a team of 1,000 working on autonomous driving technology, with planned driving tests in 100 cities across China by the end of 2024.
Xiaomi said all its EVs will come pre-installed with its HyperOS system, which combines a customised Android system and the company’s proprietary Internet of Things platform Vela. Lei touted the interconnectivity between Xiaomi vehicles and smartphones, helped by the shared operating system.
The company said that the SU7 will go through a few more months of testing before eventually hitting the market.