Starting from 229,900 yuan? Xiaomi YU7 to be launched ahead of schedule this month. Will it be hard to replicate the success of SU7?
On the morning of June 16th, Lei Jun, the chairman of Xiaomi Group, announced that the Xiaomi YU7 would be launched at the end of June along with several other high - profile products. Subsequently, Lei Jun posted on Weibo, stating that since there would be a large number of product launches at the end of the month, he would host a live - stream with Lu Weibing on June 18th to chat with netizens.
(Image source: Screenshot from Weibo)
With the SU7, Xiaomi has become a leading brand among the new domestic car - making forces. According to the data released by the Passenger Car Association, in May this year, Xiaomi ranked 13th in the domestic new - energy vehicle sales. Among the new car - making forces ahead of Xiaomi (the sales of each brand under Hongmeng Zhixing are counted into the cooperating car companies), there are only Leapmotor, Li Auto, and XPeng.
The arrival of the new Xiaomi YU7 may be an opportunity for Xiaomi to enter the top ten in domestic new - energy vehicle sales. However, the market environment it faces is completely different from that of the Xiaomi SU7.
What Helped Xiaomi SU7 Achieve a Comeback?
Today, the Xiaomi SU7 is undoubtedly a successful product. However, before it truly achieved success, not many people were optimistic about Xiaomi's cars.
On March 30, 2021, when Xiaomi announced its entry into the automotive industry, it said that it would initially invest 1 billion yuan and planned to invest 5 billion yuan in five years.
Regarding how much money is needed to build new - energy vehicles, Li Bin, the CEO of NIO, said in 2016 that new car - making forces need at least 2 billion yuan to achieve mass production. In 2022, he said that now it might not be possible without 4 billion yuan. He Xiaopeng, the CEO of XPeng, said that before entering the automotive industry, he thought it was exaggerated for others to spend tens of billions on car - making. Only after he started making cars himself did he realize that 20 billion yuan was not enough.
Moreover, at that time, the domestic new - energy vehicle market had entered an explosive growth period. Many media and netizens thought that Xiaomi was too late to enter the car - making business and had too little budget. Subsequently, the media reported news that Xiaomi had abandoned its automotive business, citing reasons such as lack of car - making qualifications and insufficient capabilities. Even after the Xiaomi SU7 was launched and put on sale, due to the time needed for production capacity ramping up and production line improvement, the delivery volume in the first few months was low, and it was also questioned about insufficient subsequent orders.
(Image source: Xiaomi)
During the process of Xiaomi's cars moving towards success, there were probably more skeptical voices than praise. However, the supporters put their money where their mouths are, which contributed to the glory of the Xiaomi SU7 and also told other car companies that car - making doesn't cost that much.
The primary condition for the Xiaomi SU7 to gain consumers' recognition must be the influence of the Xiaomi brand and Lei Jun himself. The Chinese market brings together global car companies, and there are many high - quality products. How to make more consumers aware of their own products is a headache for the marketing departments of all car companies. Xiaomi and Lei Jun not only have sufficient influence but also have a strong cross - circle effect, promoting the Xiaomi SU7 to the fields of digital technology and the Internet.
Zhou Hongyi, the chairman of 360 Group, once told Yu Chengdong, the CEO of Huawei's consumer business, that Yu had saved Huawei 1 billion yuan in publicity expenses. Nowadays, all major car companies are cultivating their own Lei Jun and Yu Chengdong, which is sufficient proof of the importance of personal IP in the Internet era.
However, if the product quality does not match the traffic, it is likely to face a backlash from public opinion. The core reason for the hot sales of the Xiaomi SU7 is still the product's excellent strength. The most impressive advantage of the Xiaomi SU7 series lies in its performance. It has run laps at the Nürburgring many times. Not long ago, the SU7 Ultra refreshed the Nürburgring electric vehicle lap - time record again with a result of 7 minutes, 4 seconds, and 957 milliseconds.
(Image source: Xiaomi)
According to a survey report from Chezhiwang, 57.3% of Xiaomi SU7 owners are under 30 years old. The Mi fans who used to buy Xiaomi phones have gradually reached the age to buy cars, and young people often pursue speed and excitement. The Xiaomi SU7 performs excellently in terms of performance among new - energy vehicles, has a high - end exterior design, and also has the Xiaomi ecosystem as a powerful weapon, meeting the needs of the young consumer group in all aspects. However, its price is slightly higher than the average price of domestic cars (according to the Passenger Car Association data: the average price of domestic cars in October 2024 was 168,000 yuan).
The success of the Xiaomi SU7 is by no means accidental. It is a product carefully polished by the Xiaomi car team after in - depth research on user needs. With just this one car, Xiaomi has grown into a giant among domestic new - force brands, ranking 13th in domestic new - energy vehicle sales. The upcoming YU7 is expected to help Xiaomi cars enter the top ten.
Can Xiaomi YU7 Replicate the Miracle of SU7?
Since the Xiaomi SU7 is positioned as a coupe, its overall design is relatively low - slung, and the rear - seat space is a bit cramped. Sacrificing space for handling is not uncommon in sports cars. The experience of a coupe in the family - car scenario is definitely not as good as that of an SUV. After all, there is no car model that can meet the needs of all consumers. Car companies need to launch different models to cover diverse consumer needs.
Huajian Securities pointed out in a report that in the domestic market, in the price range of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, the share of SUVs is as high as 55.49%, and the share of sedans is 41.09%. In the price range of 300,000 to 400,000 yuan, the share of SUVs is 55.78% and remains stable, while the share of sedans drops to 31.59%, and the share of MPVs rises to 12.63%.
Judging from the data, consumers who buy cars priced above 200,000 yuan generally pursue comfort. The large - space feature of SUV models better meets their requirements. New - energy vehicles such as Wenjie and Li Auto have all risen by relying on SUV models. For Xiaomi, the importance of the SUV model YU7 is definitely no less than that of the SU7.
At the press conference on May 22nd, Xiaomi has already announced some core configurations of the YU7. This model is divided into three versions: the standard version, the Pro version, and the Max version. The Xiaomi YU7 has a single - motor rear - wheel drive, is equipped with a 96.3 kWh lithium - iron phosphate battery, has a range of 835 km, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.88 seconds. The Xiaomi YU7 Pro is equipped with a dual - motor four - wheel drive and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.27 seconds. It also has a 96.3 kWh battery and a range of 770 km. The Xiaomi YU7 Max also has a dual - motor four - wheel drive, but its peak power is as high as 508 kW, and it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.23 seconds. The price of such high power is a reduced range. The car's battery capacity reaches 101.7 kWh, but the range is only 760 km.
(Image source: Chetong)
Based on the 800V silicon carbide platform and a 5.2C charging rate, the Xiaomi YU7 Max can charge from 10% to 80% in 12 minutes, which is faster than the Tesla Model Y and the Porsche Macan Electric in terms of energy replenishment.
The standard - equipped NVIDIA Thor U chip across all versions has a computing power of 700 TOPS. Paired with the also standard - equipped lidar, the Xiaomi YU7 makes up for the shortcomings of the SU7 in terms of computing power and the lack of lidar in the low - end version, and also has greater room for upgrading. If consumers don't pursue extreme performance, the standard version of the Xiaomi YU7, which has comparable intelligent driving capabilities to the high - end version and a longer range, may be the most worthy version to consider.
The body size of the Xiaomi SU7 is 4999×1996×1608 (1600) mm, with a wheelbase of 3000 mm, far outperforming its competitor, the Model Y. Xiaomi said that the YU7 has a headroom of 100 mm, and the rear - seat headroom and legroom are 77 mm and 73 mm respectively, which are better than those of the Model Y and the Porsche Cayenne.
Obviously, Xiaomi is a car company that is willing to listen to consumers' opinions. The YU7 makes up for the shortcomings of the SU7. High - computing power and lidar are standard, and its space is better than that of the Model Y. Although the official has not announced some configurations and details, consumers can already see the hard strength of the Xiaomi YU7 from the core configurations.
The biggest mystery about the Xiaomi YU7 at present is its price. Previously, some netizens speculated that the price of the Xiaomi YU7 would be 199,900 yuan, but Lei Jun denied it. The cost and price of SUVs in the same class are usually higher than those of sedans. The current starting price of the Xiaomi SU7 is 215,900 yuan, and it has not been discounted yet. Considering the improvement in hardware configuration and the positioning of the SUV product, Chetong predicts that the prices of the three versions of this car will be 229,900 yuan, 259,900 yuan, and 309,900 yuan respectively.
If the price of the Xiaomi YU7 is not far from Chetong's prediction, then this car will be very worth buying. However, whether it can sell well depends on consumers' support, and the target audiences of mid - to large - sized SUVs and coupes are different.
The "White Paper on Automotive Consumer Insights and Car - Buying Decision - Making" jointly released by Autohome and Roland Berger shows that the target consumer group for mid - to large - sized SUVs like the Xiaomi YU7 is men aged 30 to 40, with an average annual income of more than 400,000 yuan. They pay attention to factors such as the car brand, service experience, and product safety.
Among this group, Xiaomi's influence has declined to some extent. However, many of the former Mi fans are now around 30 years old, have started families and careers, and have strong consumption capabilities. Chetong believes that the sales volume of the Xiaomi YU7 will definitely not be low. It is expected to help Xiaomi enter the top ten in the domestic new - energy vehicle sales (including traditional car companies). However, it will be quite difficult to replicate the success of the SU7 to the same extent.
To Make YU7 a Success, Does Xiaomi Need to Break Stereotypes?
Every car company has its own label. For example, Wuling is known as a "productivity tool", Chery for being cheap and durable, Great Wall for offering a lot for the price, BYD for its high cost - effectiveness, and Huawei and XPeng for their leading intelligent driving technology.
Xiaomi has made a lot of preparations to shape its label. It has added optional physical buttons to its products and made them compatible with the Apple ecosystem. However, its biggest label at present is still "performance". Even for the SUV model YU7, which is targeted at the household market, the YU7 Max can still accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in as low as 3.23 seconds.
However, while labels help car companies with marketing and attracting consumers, they also easily lead to consumers having stereotypes about the brand.
(Image source: Xiaomi)
The target group for mid - to large - sized SUVs is high - spending people aged 30 to 40, which is different from Xiaomi's current label. Fortunately, after seeing the success of the Xiaomi SU7, the media and netizens are more optimistic about the YU7, which is beneficial for the promotion of this car.
For Xiaomi, if the YU7 can succeed, it means that Xiaomi is no longer just relying on the brand influence and Lei Jun's personal influence to attract young consumers to buy. Instead, it has truly become a car brand widely recognized by consumers, breaking the stereotypes and brand limitations held by netizens.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Chetong" and is reprinted by 36Kr with permission.