Author

Che Xingyun

SU7Ultra Offers New Prospects for the Industry Chain

Since the launch of Xiaomi SU7Ultra, early adopters have already started providing "feedback" to Xiaomi regarding areas for improvement, such as short battery life and performance restrictions where unlocking features requires accumulating driving miles.

Image source: Douyin blogger "Xiaodai VQ37"

Looking back at the wave of public opinion sparked by Xiaomi Motors' release of the SU7Ultra, founder Lei Jun proudly announced, "Even if we make luxury cars, we want to make them affordable for more people who like us! Priced at 529,900 yuan." Lei also passionately stated, "We don't think high prices equate to prestige; they need to be justified, expensive for a reason, so that people who love this car can truly afford it."

However, as more people buy it, various stories inevitably emerge. Recently, there was news that #Shenyang requires Xiaomi SU7Ultra owners to sign a safety commitment letter#, and the topic immediately trended on social media.

Staff explained that the local area has been cracking down on traffic violations such as drag racing and loud exhausts since last year. Due to the high probability of high-performance cars engaging in such behavior, the traffic management department has been promoting safety awareness among owners of high-performance cars, leading some of these owners to sign commitment letters.

This still sparked online ridicule: "Remember to teach Porsche, Tesla, BMW, Audi, and other performance cars a lesson [doge][doge][doge]." Some netizens also mocked, arguing that "Wenjie, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley are the real luxury cars."

Even after many days, the topic's popularity remains undiminished. Some bloggers have quoted netizens' views, saying: "An immature company hands over an immature product to a group of immature people."

Image source: Douyin blogger "Canshangzhang Shuoche"

They further stated that in the past, high-performance cars with over 1,000 horsepower had high selling prices and maintenance costs, so owners would not easily engage in drag racing. However, high-performance electric cars have lower prices, are bought by more people, but owners lack sufficient experience in handling high-performance vehicles and have little respect for public safety, leading to a particularly high incidence of dangerous driving behaviors.

01

Lei Jun Listens to Feedback and Puts Users First

Since founding Xiaomi Mobile, Lei Jun has given netizens the "stereotype" of being open to feedback.

According to blogger "Yu Yang," the fact that Xiaomi SU7Ultra cannot use the Boost driving mode and cannot switch to track mode is because Lei Jun listens to feedback. Because a lot of research was done at that time, including car-talking bloggers like Yu Yang who provided opinions, suggesting that vehicle power should be limited.

Because only a small portion of SU7Ultra's target audience has transitioned from other performance cars, and a large portion simply likes the SU7Ultra. Without training or a foundation in performance car driving, directly using 1,500 horsepower would make it difficult for novice users to control the SU7Ultra.

With 1,500 horsepower fully unleashed, the SU7Ultra accelerates from 0-100 km/h in just 2 seconds, resulting in a maximum acceleration of 1.5G, where the driver needs to withstand 1.5 times their own body weight. Typically, such high-stress work scenarios are more common among race car drivers and pilots.

The work scenarios and pilot licenses of pilots need no further elaboration, and race car driver licenses are not something every driver can obtain. According to public information, as of 2023, there are only about 15,000 people in China with race car driver's licenses, truly one in ten thousand.

This is because when the human body bears weight exceeding its own weight, the body experiences many physiological discomforts, and reaction speed suddenly decreases, leading to symptoms such as staring eyes and dizziness. These physiological reactions can lead to uncontrollable consequences for a novice driver.

Image source: Douyin blogger "Yu Yang"

Therefore, SU7Ultra sets a "stepped" power system for users. When the driving mileage is 0-300 km, it is in novice mode, with a maximum speed of 140 km/h, and Boost mode, straight-line speed limit, and track mode are disabled. This has also given rise to a new profession of "driving surrogates."

Image source: Xianyu search

This situation further amplifies the disadvantages of novice car owners' lack of driving experience and familiarity with the SU7Ultra's driving modes, potentially increasing the driver's error rate. Within less than two weeks of the release of Xiaomi SU7Ultra, incidents of street racing and track accidents have emerged, especially track accidents, which directly reflect the lack of driving experience among drivers. After all, the SU7Ultra is the fastest mass-produced car to break the Porsche record.

02

SU7Ultra Continues to Stir Up the Automotive Industry

The impact of SU7Ultra on the automotive industry goes far beyond just setting a speed record.

Since the release of Xiaomi Su7, discussions around Xiaomi have become increasingly intense. Initially, the focus was mainly on the high similarity between the appearance of SU7 and certain foreign manufacturer models. Some believed that the launch of SU7 directly lowered the tone of competing brands, and there were even rumors of competing brand dealers blocking corporate gates due to declining Su7 sales. Although the authenticity of this has not been confirmed, the changes brought about by Xiaomi Motors to the automotive industry have already begun.

Now Xiaomi continues to release the high-performance model SU7Ultra, with the entire line standardly equipped with a 24K gold carbon fiber emblem using vacuum gold-plating technology. In terms of interior, 11 interior items such as the front seat back panel, center console trim, and welcome pedal all utilize carbon fiber.

In terms of exterior, Xiaomi SU7Ultra features a total of 6 carbon fiber accessories, including a 1.7-square-meter ultra-large carbon fiber roof that reduces weight by 11 kg. The entire car uses carbon fiber in 21 places, with a total usage area of 5.5 square meters. The key is that 90% of these carbon fiber areas use the expensive autoclave process, providing a better texture, not to mention performance car kits such as carbon ceramic brakes, bringing ample emotional value to users.

Typically, these carbon fiber accessories would be placed on overseas manufacturer models, and users would probably not be able to obtain the car without shelling out seven to eight figures. However, SU7Ultra only costs 529,900 yuan, even lower than the pre-sale price of over 800,000 yuan. In fact, even if SU7Ultra were sold at the pre-sale price of 814,900 yuan, considering the sales of 3,680 units with a small deposit within 10 minutes, its total sales would still be a substantial number. Now that the final selling price has been reduced by 35%, future SU7Ultra sales are expected to increase rapidly, continuing to impact competitors.

According to Lei Jun, users who purchase BBA, especially the 56E models, really like the Su7Ultra but find the price of over 800,000 yuan to be slightly expensive, so it was directly priced at 529,900 yuan. At the current market price, the 56E models are sold for only around 500,000 to 600,000 yuan. Xiaomi SU7Ultra's adjusted price is directly aimed at BBA's mid-to-high-end users, conveniently snatching a share of Tesla's high-end market. No wonder Lei Jun boldly stated: "I think traditional gasoline cars will definitely struggle against this car."

If Su7Ultra can truly capture the BBA 500,000-600,000 yuan market, the market doesn't need to react too strongly, as this is a result that Lei Jun deserves after fully listening to market opinions. However, it is necessary to further enhance users' familiarity with performance cars and increase users' familiarity with Su7Ultra through other means.

03

Su7Ultra Brings New Opportunities to the Entire Vehicle Industrial Chain

In the future, with the increase in Su7Ultra sales, the current automotive market landscape will certainly be reshuffled.

Firstly, Su7Ultra uses a large amount of carbon fiber materials, which have previously appeared on models priced at over seven figures or as accessories that users modify after purchasing the car. Now, Su7Ultra offers original factory parts for only 500,000 yuan, making it difficult for competitors not to follow suit. If they don't, their market competitiveness will further diminish.

In addition, besides exterior parts, wear parts such as tires will also be upgraded accordingly. Xiaomi SU7Ultra is equipped with Pirelli P ZERO 5 road tires and PodiumTrack PT01 semi-slick track tires, which are specially optimized by Sailun Tire for SU7Ultra's high-performance needs (such as track racing scenarios), meeting comprehensive indicators such as impact resistance, low rolling resistance, and high wet grip.

As everyone knows, semi-slick designs provide stronger grip under high temperatures, especially suitable for high-intensity track conditions. This cooperation marks Sailun Tire's first entry into the core segment of high-end performance cars, directly demonstrating its technical accumulation in material science and process innovation, especially its ability to respond to the stringent performance requirements of new energy vehicles.

This situation fully illustrates that traditional manufacturers can continue to ride the dividend period of new energy vehicle development, enhance corporate performance, and expand market share, as long as they have products that meet market demand.

Taking Sailun Tire as an example, in addition to providing track tires, the collaboration with Xiaomi generates intelligent synergy. Xiaomi's smart ecosystem and user data feedback can provide precise R&D iteration support for Sailun, accelerating product upgrades and enhancing premium pricing capabilities.

It is worth noting that Sailun has recently deployed the DeepSeek large model privately, connecting to the "Rubber Chain Cloud Chat" system to improve manufacturing efficiency and provide technical support for the subsequent development of high-end tires. At the same time, Sailun recently announced plans to increase its capital by 420 million yuan to hold a controlling stake in the East China Intelligent Connected Vehicle Test Field, strengthening its tire testing and supporting capabilities, laying the foundation for securing cooperation with more automakers.

Currently, the Xiaomi automotive supply chain has been basically fixed, while the Xiaomi CyberOne humanoid robot, which has not yet been released in its full form, has not yet achieved mass production. Various manufacturers may continue to exert efforts in this field.

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This article does not constitute any investment advice.

This article is originally created by Baker Street Detective, please do not repost without permission.