21st Century Business Herald reporter Zuo Maoxuan Lei Chen reported from Beijing A price conjecture that lasted for more than three months has finally been revealed.
On the evening of March 28, the price of Xiaomi SU7, the first model of Xiaomi Automobile, was officially announced. There are three versions of the new car, with the standard version starting at 215,900 yuan, the Pro version starting at 245,900 yuan, and the Max version starting at 299,900 yuan. At the same time, Xiaomi Auto also launched a founding version model limited to 5,000 units.
After the price was released, Xiaomi SU7 quickly detonated the first wave of consumer enthusiasm.
According to the official data released by Xiaomi Auto, Xiaomi SU7 Dading broke 10,000 in 4 minutes, 20,000 in 7 minutes, and 50,000 in 27 minutes. In addition, a few minutes after the founding version was put on the shelves, it displayed "sold out" on the official Xiaomi car app. However, it should be noted that Xiaomi's "Dading" is slightly different from the previous definition in the automotive industry, which generally refers to orders that cannot be refunded after placing an order, and Xiaomi SU7 can be unsubscribed within 7 days.
Judging by the feedback from the market, there is no doubt that the first battle of Xiaomi cars was a success. There has never been a car launch event that has received as much attention as the Xiaomi SU7.
Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, Zhang Jianyong, chairman of BAIC Group, and Li Bin, He Xiaopeng, and Li Xiangqi, founders of "Wei Xiaoli", also demonstrated Lei Jun's strong network of contacts; the rush of consumers also illustrated the huge impact of Xiaomi cars on the automotive industry.
The official release of Xiaomi SU7 also led to the rapid rise of Xiaomi auto concept stocks. On March 29, Xiaomi Auto Concept Stock opened sharply higher. Among them, Haitaike 20CM daily limit, Kaizhong shares, Jinrong Tianyu intraday daily limit, Chaoda equipment, Hechang polymerization, Pengling shares, innovative new materials, Sanlian forging, Xingyu Wangda and other shares rose sharply.
Due to the holiday, the Hong Kong market will be closed on 29 March and 1 April. Xiaomi Group (1810. HK) closed at HK$14.94 on March 28 yesterday, up 1.22%. Xiaomi Group (ADR) rose 12.13% on March 28 to close at $10.619 per share.
Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, said at the press conference that Xiaomi Auto hopes to become one of the top five automobile factories in the world with 15-20 years of hard work.
Of course, the Xiaomi SU7 is just the beginning. In addition to its strong marketing capabilities, can the manufacturing capacity of Xiaomi cars keep up? How will the Xiaomi ecosystem strongly empower car manufacturing? What kind of freshness and leading changes will Xiaomi cars bring to the automotive industry? At present, it seems that there are not many surprises that can be seen.
Not "volume" price-performance ratio
Xiaomi has a huge fan cluster, and the ultimate cost performance is one of the important reasons why Xiaomi has previously attracted "rice noodles", but Lei Jun has repeatedly emphasized that "we must believe in technology, Xiaomi SU7, it is impossible to 90,009, it is impossible to 140,009, and it is impossible to 190,009", "rice noodles" The possible contradiction between the consumption capacity and the expected price of Xiaomi SU7 makes the outside world full of expectations for the pricing of Xiaomi SU7.
Judging from the final pricing, the price of 215,900-299,900 yuan has raised the low price to more than 200,000 yuan to maintain a certain brand tone of the Xiaomi brand. At the same time, the top price was beaten to less than 300,000 yuan, which met the expectations of "rice fans" for Xiaomi cars to continue to be "cost-effective".
However, in order to be able to attract the first wave of users, the Xiaomi SU7 also gave some limited-time offers. For example, users who are determined before April 30, Xiaomi SU7 standard version in addition to enjoying 18000~26000 yuan of Xiaomi smart driving Pro for life, will also give a total value of 16,000 yuan of car refrigerators, Nappa leather seats and audio.
It is worth noting that in China's new energy vehicle market, the core of automotive product competition is often product power, and Xiaomi SU7's product power and cost performance are not dominant in the medium-sized, medium-sized and large-sized new energy car market.
On the one hand, at the Xiaomi car press conference, Lei Jun emphasized the many advantages of Xiaomi SU7 in terms of performance, acceleration, configuration, intelligence, etc., but many of the technologies mentioned by Lei Jun are only reflected in the high-end SU7Max. For example, the Xiaomi SU7Max uses an 800-volt high-voltage silicon carbide platform, a 101-degree Kirin battery, a 479kW dual motor, and CDC+ air suspension. The 0-100km acceleration of 2.78s mentioned by Lei Jun over the "Porsche Taycan" can be achieved in this version of the model.
On the other hand, starting in 2023, the domestic auto market continues to stage a price war. Judging from the current market competition environment, the pricing of Xiaomi SU7 also hides a lot of "careful opportunities", but there is no "cost-effective" advantage. Because, the Xiaomi SU7 standard version and pro version, which seem to be competitive in price, cannot match the competition in terms of configuration.
For example, the use of 400V platform, lithium iron phosphate battery is an important means of Xiaomi SU7 cost reduction; Lei Jun focused on the 56-inch large HUD, the standard version and Pro version are not equipped, and even can not be optional; Xiaomi SU7 does not have the same level of main competitors standard seat massage, electric suction door and other functions; some competitors of the same level standard leather seats, 25 speakers,Xiaomi SU7 needs to be optional and placed in the limited-time rights;Some car companies provide lifetime free warranty or free installation of home charging piles for the first batch of car owners,Xiaomi SU7 also does not have。
At the whole press conference, Lei Jun frequently benchmarked Xiaomi SU7 against Tesla Model 3. And claimed that Xiaomi SU7 in many key indicators, only power consumption and intelligent driving chip computing power is not as good as Model3, but Xiaomi SU7 improves battery life by increasing the battery pack power, and the Model3 intelligent driving function cannot be used in China. Lei Jun also admitted frankly that the pricing strategy of Xiaomi Auto is simple and straightforward, benchmarking against Tesla Model 3, which is 30,000 cheaper than it.
However, in the eyes of industry insiders, the most direct competitor of Xiaomi SU7 may not be Tesla Model 3, but Geely's high-end brand ZEEKR mid-size pure electric sedan ZEEKR 007 and medium and large pure electric sedan ZEEKR 001.
In terms of cost performance, ZEEKR was previously considered the "king of volumes" in the industry. The price starts at 209,900 yuan, although the size of the ZEEKR 007 is slightly smaller than that of Xiaomi SU7, but the battery pack, motor, intelligent driving, smart cabin and other functional configurations are not inferior, and the whole system is equipped with a standard 800V platform, Xiaomi SU7 is only a high configuration is 800V platform;The price range is 269,000 yuan-329,000 yuan of ZEEKR001The size is larger than that of Xiaomi SU7, and the whole system is equipped with 800V platform, lidar, Nappa leather, HUD, seat massage, Xiaomi SU7 such as electric suction doors require optional or non-available configurations.
However, it is worth noting that Xiaomi, which is known for its "extreme cost performance" in the mobile phone and home appliance industry, has the greatest lethality to other domestic new energy brands in terms of marketing ability and traffic. Xiaomi's brand voice and ecological adhesion are its advantages and selling points, and the huge "circle-breaking" traffic has also brought orders to Xiaomi.
"Bringing goods" Lei Jun
Lei Jun is known as the "marketing master", and at the Xiaomi S7 more than two hours of press conference, Lei Jun showed his strong "ability to bring goods".
Judging from the content presented in the whole press conference, Xiaomi did not reflect innovation in terms of the performance of the car itself. Although Xiaomi cars have genetic advantages in the field of intelligence, they are still in the catch-up stage.
According to Lei Jun, Xiaomi's intelligent driving R&D team has more than 1,000 people, and it is expected to exceed 1,500 by the end of the year, with the goal of entering the first camp of the industry this year. Xiaomi Smart Driving City NOA plans to start user internal testing in April, 10 cities in May, and nationwide in August.
The car safety that other car companies focused on at the press conference did not have a large proportion in the Xiaomi SU7 press conference. Lei Jun focused on the Xiaomi Auto Beijing Gigafactory to promote the manufacturing capabilities of Xiaomi Auto. However, Xiaomi SU7, as a latecomer, still needs time to accumulate to improve its car-making experience and quality capabilities. Improving production capacity and quality control capabilities is also a problem that Xiaomi directly faces after receiving a large number of orders.
In addition, another major advantage of Xiaomi entering the automotive circle is ecology, emphasizing that ecological capabilities are also in line with the expectations of the outside world. Because it is not realistic to achieve a subversive leap in technology, the outside world's expectation of Huawei, Xiaomi, Baidu and other technology companies for cross-border car manufacturing power lies in their strong ecological capabilities to continuously optimize the experience of smart cars, and smart cars give more connotations to cars as a travel tool.
At present, smart electric vehicles have gradually entered the competition at the ecological level. AI, big data, cloud computing, these are the strengths of technology companies, Xiaomi's ecology has basically taken shape, and cars are only a part of the ecology. This has a huge advantage over traditional car companies that are actively exploring their own ecosystems.
Compared with the car itself, at the press conference, Lei Jun also focused on the "people-car-home ecology". "Intelligence and ecology are the biggest advantages of Xiaomi Auto. Lei Jun emphasized. In the live demonstration, the Xiaomi SU7 can be interconnected with Xiaomi's mobile phones, tablets, computers, household appliances, etc. In addition, the karaoke function, the "Xiao Ai classmate" voice control system integrated into the large model, etc.
In addition, during Lei Jun's speech, a series of peripherals such as mobile phone holders, flashlights, pillows, car aromatherapy, walkie-talkies, quartz atmosphere lights, and physical buttons on the central control screen were also permeated. At the end of the press conference, Lei Jun also introduced Xiaomilife, which will sell brand derivatives such as 1:18 car models, mugs, and baseball caps.
From a business point of view, these businesses will all bring great added value to Xiaomi Auto.
Judging from Xiaomi SU7, Xiaomi's "people-car-home ecology" has begun to take shape. But on the whole, the empowerment of Xiaomi cars by the Xiaomi ecosystem is the first step, and "rice noodles" will be the first to accept and be willing to pay for the Xiaomi ecology. More importantly, it remains to be seen whether Xiaomi can cut into higher-end consumer groups through automobiles, so that more people can pay for the products and services of the Xiaomi ecosystem in more scenarios, thereby expanding the overall base.
As Lei Jun said, although Apple announced that it will not build cars, Xiaomi's car ecosystem will still support Apple's applications well. In the past many years, although Xiaomi mobile phones have been benchmarked against Apple, it is difficult to achieve the gap in brand value, and there are not many users who switch from Apple to Xiaomi. Whether Xiaomi Auto can help Xiaomi solve this historical problem depends on the evolution speed and form of Xiaomi's "people-vehicle-home ecology".
Supply chain "carnival"
With the launch of Xiaomi Automobile, a group of automotive ecological supply chains with scientific and technological innovation as the core has gradually taken shape.
Lei Jun said that Xiaomi cars will adopt a series of leading technologies, including ultra-high-speed motors, high-voltage platforms, integrated battery packs, cell inversion technology, high-efficiency heat pumps, autonomous driving technology, etc. The realization of these technologies is inseparable from the strong supply chain support behind them.
According to public information, more than 70 A-share listed companies have confirmed to become suppliers of Xiaomi Auto. These suppliers cover all aspects of automobile manufacturing, from intelligent cockpits, chassis supporting to power battery materials, etc., forming a diversified and efficient supply chain network.
For example, Desay SV is Xiaomi's intelligent cockpit supplier, Sanlian Forging focuses on automotive chassis supporting, Tuopu Group provides Xiaomi with automotive interior and exterior trims, sealing systems and other products, Jinrong Tianyu provides stable chassis supporting services for Xiaomi automobiles, and Jingwei Hengrun provides support for the intelligence and electrification of Xiaomi automobiles.
In fact, before the official announcement of the car, Xiaomi has begun to supplement the automobile-related technology through investment and equity participation, and forward-looking layout of competitive focus areas such as intelligent driving.
According to Debang Securities, Xiaomi has laid out the entire automotive industry chain through Shunwei Capital, Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Fund, Xiaomi Private Equity Fund, etc., covering core smart car hardware fields such as on-board chips, lidar, visual sensing, intelligent cockpit, intelligent driving, and power batteries.
The 21st Century Business Herald reporter combed the layout of the whole industrial chain of Xiaomi automobiles in recent years and found that in the field of on-board chips, in July 2021, Xiaomi participated in the strategic round of financing of Black Sesame Intelligent Technology, and led its C round of financing in September, and in the field of intelligent driving, in August 2021, Xiaomi Group led the investment in Geometric Partner Pre-A+In July 2021, Xiaomi Group participated in the B round of financing of Honeycomb Energy of 10.28 billion yuan, and in August, it led the strategic financing of Ganfeng Lithium Battery.
In addition, Xiaomi has also participated in a number of investments in the fields of smart cockpit, lidar, and vision sensors, the most recent of which is in September 2023, when Xiaomi led the strategic round of Tanwei Technology.
Huaxin Securities research report pointed out that based on the core technology, supply chain management capabilities and brand effect of Xiaomi Automobile, it is expected to become a new generation of popular models, driving the flexibility of supply chain enterprises, and it is recommended to focus on supply chain investment opportunities.
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![First, Lei Jun asked Wei Jianjun to transplant the entire ecosystem of Xiaomi to all the brands of Great Wall Motors[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)