The word slowed down when Covid hit, putting a hiatus on many industries, especially for Asian countries. Only in 2024 has the Beijing Motor Show made a comeback with its latest and greatest vehicles. An event that has been four years in the making, exciting car-enthusiasts and consumers alike. The Crown Jewel of this year’s motorshow is the Xiaomi, (or shaw-mi) SU7, starting at thirty thousand dollars! It was announced in December 2023, just before the new year rang out. The car was formally launched on March 28th, 2024 in Beijing, with Xiaomi Auto starting to take orders for the car on that day. Xiaomi announced that it received more than fifty thousand orders for the SU7 in just thirty minutes. According to Xiaomi Auto, ‘SU’ stands for ‘Speed Ultra’.
An electric sedan with the ability to not only autonomously drive, but parking as well. The view from the SU7 has a range from two inches minimum, all the way to ninety eight inches maximum. That is eight feet of visibility in harsh weather conditions, and high speed driving scenarios. Road conditions are recognized in real time, and adjusted to provide the driver with far more ease of mind. Additionally, technology integrates into the “Smart Cabin”, allowing up to five screens for navigation, passenger enjoyment, or settings and manual display.
The interactive experience of Xiaomi Smart Cabin is similar to tablets, allowing users to quickly adapt without the need for a learning curve. The system operates exceptionally smoothly, with the vehicle OS launching in a rapid 1.49 seconds after the door is unlocked. It offers seamless cross-device connection between smartphones and the electric vehicle. For those who prefer the color of their car over the technical details, there are nine options with more on the way.
The first three, Aqua Blue, Verdant Green, and Mineral Gray were released during the original announcement in December of last year. Last month six more colors were released, including Meteor Blue: A very soft light blue, fresh looking, peaceful, and relaxing. Radiant Purple: Romantic, dreamy, gentle, and even more radiant. Basalt Gray: A blue-gray metallic finish for a low-key, premium look. Lava Orange: A high-saturation color that’s full of passion and vitality and looks fantastic. Pearl White: Added pearl powder gives a three-dimensional, highly-attractive luster.
Diamond Black: An extraordinary black with a touch of deep blue. Xiaomi Auto itself has promised an astonishing delivery target of one hundred twenty thousand cars for eager consumers. A twenty percent increase from the previous goal of one thousand cars available by the end of 2024. CEO Lei Jun suggested there are more meanings than just the “millet and rice” to the word Xiaomi, both in company and car name. He linked the “Xiao” part to the Buddhistconcept that “a single grain of rice of a Buddhist is as great as a mountain”, suggesting that Xiaomi wants to work from the little things, instead of starting by striving for perfection while “mi” is an acronym for Mobile Internet and also “mission impossible”, referring to the obstacles encountered in starting the company.
By the end of 2024, Xiaomi EV’s sales and service network will include two hundred and nineteen sales stores covering forty six cities and one hundred and forty three service centers. This is to be across eighty six cities, covering almost all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the Chinese mainland, it said. Still, Xiaomi has no plans to bring its SU7 to the U.S. Instead, it’s looking to challenge Tesla’s market share in China.