Xiaomi Car Officially Announces Debut

On March 12th, Lei Jun announced on Weibo that Xiaomi’s SU7 will officially be launched on March 28th. Lei Jun stated, “This marks the culmination of our three-year commitment. If you desire a car equipped with cutting-edge smart technology and outstanding driving experience, I believe Xiaomi SU7 will be your top choice.”

As Xiaomi’s car finally announced its market debut, several car manufacturers have initiated successive rounds of price wars. Among them, BYD stands out with the most drastic price reduction, offering the Qin PLUS Honor Edition and the Destroyer 05 Honor Edition at a starting price of 79,800 yuan. Many netizens have expressed concerns over Xiaomi’s fierce competitive environment, jokingly saying, “Take a step back, Xiaomi, BYD and Geely are everywhere.”

Southern Metropolis Daily reporters noticed that Xiaomi’s official Weibo also announced the launch of Xiaomi SU7 on March 28th, with the slogan “Deliver upon listing, Scale upon delivery.” They further stated that Xiaomi Cars can now start pre-orders simultaneously at 59 stores in 29 cities nationwide, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

Previously, the person in charge of Extreme Tech had subtly disclosed Xiaomi’s car release date during the media interview for Extreme Tech 001’s listing. When asked about their views on Xiaomi’s cars, the person in charge mentioned, “Regarding the rumor that we are targeting Xiaomi because they poached our people, that is not the case. We heard through the grapevine that they will release their car on 3.28. If we were really targeting them, we wouldn’t need to launch today; waiting until 3.29 would be fine, right? So, we are still considering the overall market competition.”

Despite Extreme Tech’s efforts to deny any intention to target Xiaomi, Xiaomi Cars are already facing an intense competitive environment. According to estimations by Southern Metropolis Daily, nearly 20 new energy car brands like Lixiang, Geely Galaxy, Avatar, NIO, Tesla, BYD, Wuling, and Deep Blue have recently introduced price reduction promotions. Many netizens jokingly suggest, “Take a step back, Xiaomi, BYD and Geely are everywhere.”

Among the discounted cars, netizens believe BYD has the most aggressive price reduction. On February 19th, BYD announced the Qin PLUS Honor Edition and Destroyer 05 Honor Edition, both starting at 79,800 yuan. The DM-i model is priced between 79,800 and 125,800 yuan, while the EV model ranges from 109,800 to 139,800 yuan, with slogans shifting from “same price for hybrid” to “electric cheaper than fuel.” Likewise, Extreme Tech, which denied targeting Xiaomi, is dubbed by netizens as “Xiaomi’s contender,” offering the new Extreme Tech 001 at a starting price of 269,000 yuan and the Extreme Tech 007 at 209,900 yuan.

At a previous global new energy powertrain conference, Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, openly stated that the Chinese automotive industry is currently experiencing short-term manifestations of long-term trends, expecting Chinese car companies to reduce from over a hundred to about a dozen through elimination rounds.

Given the intense price war, the most pressing question now is what pricing strategy Xiaomi Cars will adopt.

Source: Southern Metropolis Daily Reporter Lin Wenqi