Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is seeing continued strong demand for its first electric vehicle (EV) – the SU7, short for Speed Ultra 7 – even as potential buyers face delivery wait times of more than five months, the South China Morning Post has learned.
Buyers of the standard SU7 model, which costs 215,900 yuan (US$29,859), are expected to wait at least 21 weeks for delivery on orders placed as of Tuesday, according to checks made by the Post on the Xiaomi Car app.
Xiaomi had locked in an estimated 40,000 orders as of Tuesday, according to a report by Chinese media Yicai. Xiaomi said it had nearly 89,000 pre-orders in the first 24 hours of sales last week, but buyers have seven days to cancel.
Once orders are locked in, buyers forfeit their 5,000 yuan deposit. The return rate so far is estimated to be 40 per cent, according to data from Chinese auto media Car Fans.
Xiaomi founder, chairman and chief executive Lei Jun introduces the company’s first electric vehicle, the SU7, at its commercial launch in Beijing on March 28, 2024. Photo: Xinhua
The Beijing-based company recorded sales of around 50,000 SU7 units in just the first 30 minutes of the EV’s commercial launch on March 28. During the Easter weekend, more than 50 Xiaomi showrooms in 29 mainland cities where the SU7 is on display saw people queue for hours to check out the EV.
Xiaomi did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Shares of Xiaomi surged as much as 16 per cent on Tuesday on the back of domestic consumers’ favourable response to the SU7. The firm posted gains of 8.7 per cent at the close of trading, adding HK$33.4 billion (US$4.3 billion) to its market capitalisation.
An assembly line for Xiaomi’s SU7 electric vehicle in Beijing seen on March 29, 2024. Photo: Xinhua
Xiaomi plans to churn out about 5,000 units of the SU7 this month, according to Yicai’s report on Tuesday that cited industry sources. On Monday, Xiaomi said it was ramping up production capacity to meet demand and cut delivery wait times.
Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s billionaire founder, chairman and chief executive has said the SU7, which has a 700-kilometre (440-mile) battery life, was benchmarked against Tesla’s Model 3. He claimed that 90 per cent of the SU7’s specifications surpassed those of Tesla’s model.
The entry cost of the SU7 is also about 30,000 yuan below the Model 3’s starting price.
