Xiaomi cars are selling like hotcakes, but controversies are closely following Lei Jun.

In the current era of rapid technological advancement, Xiaomi, a company that has achieved remarkable success in various fields such as smartphones and smart home devices, attracts significant attention from the market and consumers with every move it makes.

Under the leadership of Lei Jun, Xiaomi has recently made rapid inroads into the electric vehicle sector and achieved great success.

However, recently, Xiaomi has been embroiled in a series of public controversies regarding its automotive and smart lock businesses. These include disputes over the requirement to settle the balance before receiving the car, doubts from a peer executive about the data in Xiaomi's automotive business, and an incident where a Xiaomi smart lock mistakenly recognized a deliveryman's face and unlocked the door...

These incidents have not only pushed Xiaomi into the spotlight but also sparked in - depth thinking in the market about Xiaomi's business operations, product experience, and industry competition.

The Planning Department Head of FAW Toyota Points Out "Mistakes" to Lei Jun Online

On August 11, Zhao Dong, the head of the planning department of FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd., publicly stated on Weibo that Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Group, made an error in the parameter description of the "axle - to - wheel ratio" when introducing the Xiaomi YU7 model.

Lei Jun claimed that the "axle - to - wheel ratio" of this model was 3 times. However, according to the calculations based on the PPT presented by Xiaomi's official, the actual value should be 4 times. Zhao Dong explained that from Xiaomi's official materials, the space between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle can accommodate 3 tire widths, indicating that the ratio of the wheelbase to the tire diameter is actually 4:1.

He also emphasized that although he has a professional background, out of respect and admiration for Lei Jun, he did not question it on the spot. After verification by the R & D team, he confirmed that the concept of the "axle - to - wheel ratio" was proposed by Xiaomi, and there is no such concept as "axle - to - wheel ratio" or "wheel - to - height ratio" in traditional automotive theory.

Zhao Dong said that since Xiaomi put forward the statement that "the optimal axle - to - wheel ratio is 3 times", many car manufacturers have started using the same description to promote their products. Zhao Dong cited data to show that the actual "axle - to - wheel ratio" of several models, including the Xiaomi YU7 and the Toyota BZ5, reaches the standard of 4 times.

It is worth noting that Zhao Dong emphasized in the comment section of his Weibo that he "has no intention of stigmatizing" and "has not attacked Xiaomi".

Some voices believe that this controversy over the "axle - to - wheel ratio" essentially reflects the contradiction between marketing slogans and industry standards. Lei Jun created the concept of the "axle - to - wheel ratio" in an intuitive and eye - catching way for consumers. However, from a professional and rigorous perspective, its calculation method deviates from traditional automotive theory.

In fact, this is not the first time that Xiaomi has sparked controversy due to its marketing slogans. As early as in 2016 when Xiaomi launched its laptops, Lei Jun claimed that they were "thinner than a one - yuan coin", but in reality, it was a comparison between a standing coin and a lying laptop.

Although such marketing tactics can attract attention and highlight product advantages in the short term, in the long run, they may damage the brand's professionalism and credibility.

Controversy over Early Payment of Car Balance and Concerns Caused by Mis - unlocking of Smart Locks

The controversies involving Xiaomi's cars recently are not limited to the discussion about the "axle - to - wheel ratio". Since Xiaomi started delivering cars, disputes related to the payment of the balance have been constant.

In August this year, a large number of users on social platforms reported that they received notices from Xiaomi requiring them to pay the balance within 7 days before the cars were delivered, and some cars had not even rolled off the production line. Otherwise, their orders would be cancelled, and the deposits would not be refunded.

According to media reports, a user paid a deposit to order a Xiaomi SU7 in April last year, originally planning to pick up the car in July of the same year. However, in December of the same year, Xiaomi asked the user to pay the balance within 7 days on the grounds of "factory material preparation requirements".

After the user paid according to the requirement, the delivery time was postponed to April 2025, 9 months later than the original plan. Subsequently, the repeated changes in the order status made the user seriously dissatisfied with Xiaomi's vehicle delivery management ability.

In such controversies, the "balance payment" clause in Xiaomi's car "Purchase Agreement" has become the focus of the dispute. This clause stipulates that users are required to pay the entire remaining amount within 7 natural days after receiving the payment notice. Failure to pay in full on time or refusal to pay constitutes a fundamental breach of contract. Xiaomi has the right to cancel the order and confiscate the deposit, and users shall bear the consequences and risks of delaying or refusing to pay on the grounds that the car has not rolled off the production line or has not been delivered.

According to NBD (National Business Daily), several salespeople of Xiaomi cars in Beijing said that the requirement to pay the balance in advance only applies to some prospective car owners with special circumstances. "It only applies to users who have requested a delayed delivery or are assessed to have a high risk of not picking up the car - for example, those who are less cooperative when handling financial installments or have expressed the idea of not wanting to pick up the car."

A person close to Xiaomi's car business revealed that under normal circumstances, car owners pay when the car is produced and about to be delivered. However, there are two special situations where partial payment may be required in advance.

One is when the customer actively requests a delayed production schedule and hopes to postpone picking up the car when the car is about to roll off the production line. In this case, the customer may be required to pay a deposit of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan into a supervision account. The other is when there is a high possibility that the customer will not pick up the car, and the customer may be required to pay the balance in advance or a down payment of 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.

The insider introduced that Xiaomi's judgment in this regard is usually based on two observations. For example, if the delivery party contacts the customer one month in advance to handle necessary procedures such as financial installments and the customer refuses to cooperate, or if the customer shows an intention of not wanting the car in official communication groups or other channels.

Leida Finance noticed that in the previously released "Answers to Netizens' Questions about Xiaomi SU7", Xiaomi's car business clearly promised to "support paying the balance after vehicle inspection". Now, the actual operation contradicts the promise, which has sparked strong dissatisfaction among consumers.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the various controversies involving Xiaomi's cars, another product under Xiaomi has also been accused of having technical problems recently.

On August 11, the day when the "axle - to - wheel ratio" controversy attracted attention, a netizen posted on the Internet that their Xiaomi smart lock mistakenly recognized the face of a deliveryman, resulting in the lock being accidentally unlocked.

The person involved, Mr. Shi, said that the model of the malfunctioning lock was the Xiaomi Smart Lock 2 Pro. The deliveryman had a similar face shape to his own, and the lock had occasionally required a second - time recognition before, but this was the first time that it completely mis - unlocked.

After the incident was exposed, Xiaomi responded that it would record and verify the relevant situation and feedback it to the technical department for optimization. According to Sina Technology, Xiaomi's customer service said, "Our face recognition technology is based on 3D structured light. Based on the characteristics of 3D faces, this situation basically won't happen."

Strong Car Sales but Limited Production Capacity, Xiaomi Expands into the African Market

Despite the continuous controversies, Xiaomi's cars have achieved remarkable results in terms of sales.

Within 24 hours after the launch of the Xiaomi SU7, the number of large - volume orders exceeded 88,000 units; within 2 hours after the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra went on sale, the number of large - volume orders exceeded 10,000 units; within just 3 minutes after the launch of the YU7, the number of large - volume orders exceeded 200,000 units.

On August 1, Lei Jun also revealed on Weibo that in July this year, the monthly delivery volume of Xiaomi's cars exceeded 30,000 units.

Some netizens calculated that assuming that the current stable monthly effective order volume of the Xiaomi SU7 is about 30,000 units, if half of the users (15,000 units) are required to pay the balance in advance, and based on the average price of about 120,000 yuan for its relatively mainstream configuration, it means that Xiaomi's car business can lock in a cash flow of up to 1.8 billion yuan in advance.

The automotive self - media "Automotive Intelligence" pointed out that this huge amount of funds is no small matter for any enterprise, and it is like a timely help for Xiaomi's car business, which is in a period of rapid production capacity ramping up and continuous huge investment in R & D, supply chain, and channel construction.

However, behind the impressive order data of Xiaomi's cars, the delivery process has been frequently questioned. According to a report by the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily in May this year, at that time, it would take 42 to 45 weeks to receive a newly ordered Xiaomi SU7 standard version.

Leida Finance also mentioned in a previous article that a large number of netizens complained that there was a bug in Xiaomi's YU7 order - locking system, resulting in delayed orders and long delivery cycles.

On the Black Cat Complaint platform, many netizens have also filed complaints, directly accusing Xiaomi of "knowing its limited production capacity but not limiting the order - locking volume" and "damaging users' rights and interests due to long - term system malfunctions in order - locking"...

It is worth noting that recently, Xiaomi has made important personnel adjustments in the African market, appointing Liu Shequan as the general manager of the African regional department and also the person - in - charge of the West African theater, reporting directly to Lin En, the general manager of the international sales department.

At the same time, Zou Chengzong was appointed as the person - in - charge of the East African theater, Huang Jinhua as the country manager of Kenya, Wu Chunhui in charge of the marketing department, and Liu Yeqi in charge of the after - sales service department. The above four all report to Liu Shequan. This series of personnel adjustments shows Xiaomi's "ambition" to further explore the African market.

According to Tianyancha, currently, Lei Jun holds the important positions of chairman and CEO at Xiaomi. As the soul figure of Xiaomi, how will he lead Xiaomi to face this series of challenges in the future? Leida Finance will continue to pay attention.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Leida Finance", author: Peng Cheng, editor: Meng Shuai, published by 36Kr with authorization.