When "self-pampering" enters the automotive market, Xiaomi's customized services aim to do something different.

A fact that ordinary consumers are reluctant to face is that personalization is a privilege of ultra-luxury brands.

In the mainstream automotive market, especially in the most fiercely competitive price range of 300,000 - 400,000 yuan, under the scale rule of "efficiency first", it has gone to an extreme.

For cost control and rapid delivery, car - makers would like to only offer a "fixed package" with a single exterior, interior, and configuration to maximize industrial value and profit.

No matter how much brands promote individuality, only cars in "safe colors" like black, white, gray, and silver are parked in their showrooms. Meanwhile, automotive design languages have become increasingly similar due to the pursuit of aerodynamic drag.

Is it true that a wide range of configurations and personalized decorations can only be a game for the top of the pyramid? Apparently, Xiaomi Auto is trying to break this deadlock.

If the SU7 and YU7 have awakened consumers' aesthetic pursuits, then the "Xiaomi Customization Service" officially launched by Xiaomi Auto at Lei Jun's annual speech on September 25th is another leap - forward attempt to stimulate and meet consumers' personalized needs.

Among the first batch of 26 newly added personalized configurations, there are not only a large number of delicate handmade processes but also the pursuit of excellence in design and material selection. Consumers could only find the same products and services among ultra - luxury brands such as Porsche, Ferrari, and Rolls - Royce before.

Why does Xiaomi target customization services?

Obviously, Xiaomi's goal is not only about sales figures or winning the current market competition. Instead, it aims to promote the common upgrade of the Chinese automotive market and industry through a new business model.

Automotive Customization Service: A Difficult but Right Path

The significance of a car is by no means just an ordinary means of transportation.

In the early stage of social and economic development, owning a car was a symbol of individuality and status, but the foundation of the automotive industry has always been large - scale production.

Efficient production has reduced vehicle manufacturing costs, allowing cars to enter thousands of households. The power, technology, aesthetics, and design of cars have also achieved rapid equalization. This production method has created classic models such as the Ford F - 150 and Toyota Corolla.

However, productivity is advancing, and purchasing power is upgrading. Products under the large - scale business model can hardly meet consumers' increasingly diverse car - buying needs.

Ultra - luxury brands with better R & D and manufacturing capabilities, such as Porsche, Ferrari, and Rolls - Royce, have launched automotive customization services. They win the favor of high - end users through exclusive design, premium services, and limited sales volume.

When customizing a vehicle from an ultra - luxury brand, consumers usually need to pay an additional 300,000 - 500,000 yuan or even more for personalized options on top of the car price.

The high price has put automotive customization services out of reach, and ordinary consumers can only dream about it. Within the price range of one million yuan, customization services are still a blank.

Xiaomi Auto has taken the first step in the entire industry, offering customization services that were originally exclusive to ultra - luxury brands in the 300,000 - 400,000 yuan range.

On this path, Xiaomi will face no fewer difficulties.

Take car paint colors as an example. First of all, it's an economic account.

The development cost of a single automotive color paint exceeds 2 million yuan. Enterprises that prioritize production efficiency and cost usually only offer 4 - 5 options. However, Xiaomi Auto's mass - produced version offers 8 - 9 options, and the future goal of its customization service is to provide over 100 color paint options.

Secondly, car paint is not simply "adjusting a color". It is a complex project involving artistic aesthetics, materials science, and industrial manufacturing, and the difficulty is no less than that of chassis power and intelligence.

Xiaomi, which has both determination and investment, has launched 5 new car paint colors in the first batch of its customization service. Among them, the amethyst color scheme uses a double - layer clear - coat sanding and polishing process, presenting a gloss effect similar to that of a crystal.

What are the secrets behind it?

There are more than 50 kinds of purple plants in nature, and there are theoretically an infinite number of purple shades in the optical sense. Xiaomi needs to find a purple tone that users yearn for. Moreover, the type, fineness, and addition amount of the materials that provide gloss in automotive color paints all need to be tried repeatedly.

The on - car effect of the "amethyst" also requires the cooperation of the painting process. In fact, the types and textures of Xiaomi Auto's car paints have always impressed consumers. This benefits from its strict selection of car paint raw materials and the meticulous treatment of the seven major processes including pre - treatment, electrophoresis, PVC sealing, intermediate coating, color paint, clear coat, and finishing. To restore the top - level mirror - like and transparent feeling of a crystal, this "amethyst" color requires 5 times of manual sanding and polishing after the spraying process, and the entire spraying and sanding process takes nearly 50 hours.

All of this depends not only on the enterprise's insight and decision - making but also on R & D and creativity, and it also tests its cooperation with manufacturing and the supply chain.

However, having only car paint options is not enough to be called customization. In the clothing industry, the originator of customization services, everything from the fabric ratio to the color of buttons and stitches needs to be customized for each customer.

Xiaomi's customization service also follows such a "customization principle". It has launched 26 personalized configurations in the first batch, covering areas such as car paint, car logos, seats, trim panel materials, wheel hub color schemes, and calipers.

These are just the design and R & D processes of the products. The difficulty and challenge of customization services also lie in cost and management.

Different from the modern efficient production where a car rolls off the production line every 10 minutes, customization services require a flexible production model. When regular paint colors and custom - made car paints with uncertain manual work periods are produced on the same production line, enterprises need to insert the assembly and offline process of customized products into the regular assembly line at irregular intervals, which poses a considerable challenge to the automated production line.

Secondly, customization services have extremely high requirements for quality, but the SKUs are more fragmented and the supply chain is longer. Therefore, the process and cost of customization services are higher than those of the mass - production model, and enterprises need to ensure the supply nodes and quality acceptance of a larger number of suppliers.

The traditional supply - chain management model for cars may not be applicable, but this is exactly Xiaomi's strength. Through its R & D and manufacturing experience in mobile phones, smart devices, and home appliances, Xiaomi has developed strong industrial management capabilities.

Whether it's R & D design or production manufacturing, the model and difficulty of customization services actually follow certain patterns. Why hasn't such a business model been popularized?

Behind the "Adventure": Understanding the New Consumption Rules

For enterprises, customization services are actually a high - risk, high - return adventure.

The competition in the Chinese automotive market is unprecedentedly intense. In a fully saturated market, products are constantly being eliminated, and enterprises are facing a survival crisis. Even though many enterprises recognize the importance of product innovation and model innovation, their primary goal is still to achieve a break - even point.

In the industrial world, aesthetics and personalization are not innate but the result of investing a great deal of energy, repeated attempts, and breaking through production bottlenecks. Customization services also mean that enterprises must break away from the efficiency philosophy and upgrade their business models.

Against the backdrop of the era of seeking stability, most enterprises currently do not have such capabilities, let alone the determination to take risks.

However, Xiaomi Auto is by no means an ordinary brand.

Xiaomi Auto's original intention: To be born for users and to be born for non - mediocrity

In this era, a change that everyone can perceive is that personalized expression has become the main fulcrum of consumption power, and the color economy has begun to dominate the fashion trend.

Pop Mart, which has become popular worldwide, satisfies the personalized expression of the new generation through its unique IP universe. Apple, which has adhered to minimalist design for many years, has launched a bright orange color in its latest iPhone 17 series, which is quite different from the Apple style. Many traditional brands are also seeking model upgrades centered around personalization.

The core of consumption decision - making has shifted from "whether it's practical" to "whether it pleases oneself". Emotional value and personalized expression are reshaping the market balance.

In the highly competitive automotive industry, the space and configurations that were once exclusive to million - yuan luxury cars have now been rapidly equalized and entered thousands of households. When the practical attributes of cars are generally satisfied, personalization has begun to become the main fulcrum of car consumption.

Xiaomi's successful breakthrough is due to its understanding of this new consumption rule.

When the industry's imagination and creation of sedans were limited to the executive level, and product involution was confined to rear - seat legroom and brand value, Xiaomi launched the SU7, a model that focuses on performance and driving experience. Subsequently, the SU7 Ultra was developed based on the Nürburgring track, challenging the high - performance field that Chinese brands have never entered.

In 2025, when competitors were fighting in the six - seat family SUV market and the concepts of "refrigerator, color TV, and big sofa" were repeatedly mentioned in the automotive industry, Xiaomi once again stood on the diagonal of the industry. Instead of taking the "large space" that the industry generally pursues as the primary selling point, it chose to design a sporty SUV that looks good, drives well, and can also meet the daily needs of a family for the driver.

The SU7 has broken the monopoly of foreign brands in the pure - electric sedan market above 200,000 yuan, and the YU7 received over 280,000 orders in just one hour, creating a miracle in the history of the Chinese automotive industry. Although Xiaomi's three consecutive car models may seem "non - mainstream" from a traditional perspective, their sales and word - of - mouth show that Xiaomi Auto is a good product recognized, loved, and pursued by consumers.

This time, Xiaomi Auto has set its sights on the forefront of consumers' needs. In fact, among automotive brands at the same level as Xiaomi Auto, there are currently no dedicated customization centers, and among ultra - luxury brands, only Ferrari has a personalized customization showroom in China.

This is a comprehensive victory in terms of perception, determination, and execution.

Xiaomi doesn't follow the trend. Instead, it starts from users and digs out every user's inner desire for a car. It breaks the industry's perception and limitations of products for consumers' pursuit of personalization.

Take the color economy as an example.

The color economy in the automotive industry is not a new phenomenon. In the past, when car paint generally only had 3 - 5 body color options and dealers only sold cars in black, white, gray, and silver for the sake of efficiency, consumers' personalized needs actually always existed.

It's just that most automotive enterprises busy pursuing efficiency have selectively ignored consumers' personalized needs.

Instead of ignoring them, Xiaomi has captured consumers' suppressed desire for self - gratification and ignited the market's pursuit of personalization with one non - mediocre product after another.

Customization services are indeed a risky business behavior, but since its inception, Xiaomi Auto has been challenging the existing game rules and taking risks in the eyes of the public to provide users with the choice they have always been looking forward to.

Xiaomi Auto's Model: A New Paradigm for Chinese Automobiles

Xiaomi Auto is an indispensable part of the development history of Chinese automobiles.

China is the world's largest new - energy vehicle market and also has the most intense competition globally. At the Shanghai Auto Show in 2025, 67 new new - energy vehicles were launched and debuted. Throughout the year, it is estimated that over 100 new cars will be launched in the Chinese market.

The highly competitive market environment is inevitably accompanied by vehicle price wars and product homogenization, posing a serious test to the survival and development of enterprises in the entire automotive industry chain