Lei Jun Sells In-Stock Cars, Salespeople Urge Orders: Can Xiaomi Maintain Momentum After Selling Over 40,000 Cars in a Month?
"You can enjoy fast car pickup, complete original factory warranty, and after - sales service. Some models are eligible for discounts." On December 1st, Lei Jun, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi Group, announced on Weibo that Xiaomi would start selling in - stock cars, display cars, and nearly new cars to the public, with varying discounts depending on the models.
Photo source: Photographed by a reporter from Time Weekly
This is the first time that Xiaomi Auto has officially sold cars at discounted prices. Meanwhile, a reporter from Time Weekly found on the Xiaomi Auto official website that the delivery cycle of the Xiaomi SU7 series has been significantly shortened from nearly half a year to as fast as 3 - 6 weeks. The delivery cycle of the Xiaomi YU7 series has also been shortened by 2 - 4 weeks, and for users who have locked in their orders, the delivery cycle has been shortened by up to 7 weeks.
While the delivery cycle has been significantly shortened, Xiaomi Auto's monthly sales exceeded 40,000 units in both October and November, showing a significant year - on - year increase. The rapid growth of car sales is closely related to Xiaomi Auto's improvement in production capacity. In the second half of this year, the delivery speed of Xiaomi Auto has significantly accelerated. Although the details of the relevant production capacity deployment have not been officially confirmed, the subsequent rapid growth in sales reflects the significant improvement in its production capacity.
Xiaomi Auto's eagerness for orders has also begun to recover. Different from Lei Jun's previous statement in a live - stream that "if you're in a hurry, you can consider other products", recently, Xiaomi Auto sales staff have started to send a large number of customer - attracting messages, specifically stating that the delivery cycle has been significantly shortened, such as "(for some models) if you place an order this month, you can pick up the car within this year".
As the end of the year approaches, Xiaomi Auto, which is never short of orders, has also started to make a final push.
Lei Jun Steps in for Promotions
"Compete for production capacity in November! Pick up your car before December 30th!" In the just - passed November, Xiaomi Auto sales staff sent multiple promotion messages in succession, including a significant shortening of the delivery cycle, the ability to pick up the car within the year, and a countdown to the purchase tax subsidy.
The reporter learned that if you order a Xiaomi SU7 now, you can pick up the car in as fast as 3 weeks, which is half a year shorter than the peak period. The overall waiting time for the Xiaomi YU7 is still around 30 weeks, but it has also been shortened by 5 - 7 weeks compared to when it was first launched. The purchase tax subsidy mentioned by the sales staff means that if the relevant orders are delivered in 2026, Xiaomi Auto will subsidize the subsequent purchase tax to be paid, with a maximum subsidy of 15,000 yuan.
Screenshot from the Xiaomi Auto official website
At the beginning of December, Lei Jun announced new car - buying benefits, mainly targeting in - stock cars, display cars, and nearly new cars. "If you lock in your order before 24:00 on December 26th, you can expect to pick up the car before the end of the year," he said.
Xiaomi Auto stated that the brand - new in - stock cars are original factory new cars, sourced from officially identified and processed abnormal orders and cars that some users are unable to pick up; the official display cars are static display cars (not test - drive cars), and some cars may have slight wear and tear; the nearly new cars are original factory new cars that had minor defects due to transportation, etc., and have been repaired and inspected by the official.
Xiaomi Auto did not announce the details of the price discounts, but said that "since the condition of each 'in - stock car' is different, we set the price comprehensively based on the version, configuration, and storage time of each 'in - stock car'."
While announcing the sale of in - stock cars, Lei Jun also announced Xiaomi Auto's sales in November. Since October, Xiaomi Auto's monthly sales have continuously exceeded 40,000 units, an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period last year. Xiaomi Auto also completed its annual sales target of 350,000 units one month ahead of schedule, with nearly 360,000 cars sold in the first 11 months.
The rapid growth of car sales has also made Xiaomi Auto the fastest - profitable new - force brand in China. The financial report for the first three quarters released by Xiaomi Group shows that the revenue of Xiaomi's innovative businesses such as smart electric vehicles and AI reached 29 billion yuan in the third quarter, a year - on - year increase of 199.2%; the net profit was 700 million yuan, achieving quarterly profitability for the first time.
Has the Monthly Production Capacity Exceeded the Newly - Added Order Volume?
Behind the growth of car sales and the shortening of the car - pickup cycle, the improvement in production capacity has played a key role.
Since the launch of Xiaomi's first car at the end of March 2024, improving production capacity has become one of the most frequently mentioned topics by Lei Jun. The designed annual production capacity of the first - phase project of Xiaomi Auto's Beijing factory is 150,000 units, which can no longer meet Xiaomi Auto's growth. Therefore, after increasing production capacity by running the first - phase project in two shifts, expanding the factory has become an inevitable choice.
In June this year, multiple media reported that the second - phase project of Xiaomi Auto's Beijing factory was completed and would be put into production. According to the plan, after the second - phase project of Xiaomi Auto's factory is put into production, the overall designed production capacity of Xiaomi Auto will reach 300,000 units per year. If both phases of the project adopt a two - shift production system, the actual production capacity may be much higher than this figure.
Although Xiaomi Group has not made an official response, Xiaomi Auto's actual sales continued to grow from June to October this year, increasing from 25,000 units per month to 49,000 units per month in 4 months, and continuously exceeding the 40,000 - unit mark in October and November. Calculated based on a monthly sales volume of over 40,000 units, Xiaomi Auto's sales may reach 500,000 units in the next 12 months.
In the view of analysts, the improvement in Xiaomi Auto's production capacity has accelerated the consumption speed of Xiaomi Auto's existing orders, which may be one of the main reasons for the significant shortening of the car - pickup cycle for models such as the Xiaomi SU7. From another perspective, Xiaomi Auto needs to replenish its on - hand orders, which is why there have been recent sales follow - up calls and Lei Jun's announcement of the sale of in - stock cars.
"The delivery cycle is dynamically changing. Generally, it is appropriately adjusted based on this month's (delivery volume) for the next month," a relevant person in charge of Xiaomi Group told the reporter on December 1st.
The Xiaomi YU7 set an order record of 240,000 units within 18 hours of its launch, and since then, Xiaomi Auto has not released the latest order data. The shortening of the car - pickup cycle may mean that Xiaomi Auto's current monthly production has exceeded the monthly newly - added order volume. Although according to the current car - pickup cycle and monthly sales volume, Xiaomi Auto still has many on - hand orders, it is also pursuing continuous growth.
Xiaomi May Accelerate the Rhythm of New Product Launches
Some analysts also pointed out that the fierce market competition is also forcing Xiaomi Auto to pursue growth.
As a car brand that has only been established for a little over 4 years, Xiaomi Auto has mainly launched 2 models in the past 2 years. This rhythm is quite fast for Xiaomi Auto, but it is not considered fast in the domestic car market. Especially in 2025, when there are a large number of competing products, the competitive pressure on Xiaomi Auto is constantly increasing.
Photo source: Photographed by a reporter from Time Weekly
After the launch of the Xiaomi YU7, similar products from multiple brands such as BYD, Geely Auto, Wenjie Auto, Li Auto, and NIO have been launched, including the new Wenjie M7, Geely Galaxy M9, Li Auto i8, and LeDao L90. These models have their own advantages and disadvantages compared with the Xiaomi YU7, but their car - pickup cycles are shorter, attracting many potential consumers.
Since its launch in March last year, the Xiaomi SU7 has not had any major updates or facelifts. Although this car still performs well in the market, the pressure from competitors is constantly increasing.
Therefore, Xiaomi Auto needs to maintain its sales growth rate and at the same time accelerate the product launch rhythm. Against this background, new products of Xiaomi Auto may be unveiled from the end of this year to the beginning of next year.
According to previous time points, in December 2023 and December 2024, Xiaomi publicly announced the basic information of its first car, the SU7, and its second car, the YU7, respectively. At the end of this year, there are reports that new products such as Xiaomi's third car, the "Xiaomi YU9", the facelifted Xiaomi SU7, and the Xiaomi YU7 GT will also be unveiled at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
Among them, Xiaomi's third car may be a large - sized extended - range SUV, called "Kunlun" or "Xiaomi YU9". The large - sized extended - range SUV is the core segment of the domestic car market this year. This year, brands such as Voyah, IM Motors, and Wenjie have all launched corresponding products, and Xiaomi may join this market.
Xiaomi Group did not comment on this. However, with the launch of new cars, Xiaomi Auto's production capacity may be challenged again. Is Lei Jun and Xiaomi Auto ready this time?
This article is from the WeChat official account "Time Weekly" (ID: timeweekly), author: Wu Kai, editor: Liu Xue, published by 36Kr with authorization.