Chinese tech giant Xiaomi (HKG: 1810) has entered the electric vehicle (EV) market with the unveiling of its first-ever electric car, the Xiaomi SU7. On Friday morning, reports suggested that Tesla (TSLA) lost 25bn in shares overnight on the New York stock exchange after Xiaomi’s announcement, with a 3% shareprice drop in less than 24 hours.
Xiaomi unveils SU7 competing with Tesla and Porsche
Positioned as a C-Class performance sedan, the SU7 is based on Xiaomi’s Modena Architecture and features HyperEngine electric motors with impressive capabilities. The electric sedan comes in two variants: the dual-motor all-wheel-drive SU7 Max and the single-motor rear-wheel-drive SU7.
Key innovations include the use of die casting machines with a clamping force of 9,100 tons, a 800km range with acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.78 seconds. Its maximum speed of 265km/h outperforms the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan Turbo.
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Xiaomi has initiated small-scale production, and sales are to commence around April 2024, coinciding with the Beijing Auto Show. CEO Lei Jun highlighted that Tianyuan Li, known for his contributions to BMW’s iX series and iVision concepts, voluntarily joined Xiaomi’s auto design team.
Li was accompanied by James Qiu, who previously worked on the design of Mercedes-Benz’s Vision EQXX. To further bolster their design capabilities, the team enlisted the expertise of Chris Bangle, a seasoned veteran from BMW, as design consultant.
Tesla has recently announced it is commencing production of its Model Y electric car in Shanghai, China. However, a Reuters investigation found that senators contacted Musk to request that steering and suspension parts of the Model Y be removed and produced again. According to the investigation, these two parts were considered a security risk.
