Rising and Falling Amidst Traffic Fluctuations

Last year, Lei Jun, who had "taught the automotive industry a lesson," unexpectedly found himself learning one himself from overwhelming public scrutiny at his peak moment. His sentiment that "the past month has been the most difficult period since I founded Xiaomi" seems prescient, as the storm continues to rage.

From safety concerns stemming from the spontaneous combustion of the Xiaomi SU7 after hitting a guardrail, to skepticism surrounding overhyped NOA intelligent assisted driving systems; from performance controversies involving the SU7 Ultra's horsepower being limited from its original 1,548 to 900, to criticism of the 42,000 yuan carbon fiber front hood for its flawed heat dissipation design; recently, numerous car owners have even reported warping in the outer frame of the Xiaomi SU7's headlights and fenders. Xiaomi Automobile is now grappling with a comprehensive trust crisis spanning technology and quality control.

On May 19, Lei Jun's personal Weibo account announced a string of updates, revealing that Xiaomi's strategic new product press conference will be held at 7 PM on May 22. Accompanying this announcement was a long article titled "Xiaomi's Chip Journey," detailing the company's chip research and development process. "At the beginning of 2021, we made two major decisions: to venture into the automotive industry and to restart our 'big chip' business, resuming research and development on mobile phone SoCs."

Another highlight of this press conference is Xiaomi's first SUV, the Xiaomi YU7, which has garnered significant attention. As the backlash from automotive scrutiny lingers, it remains uncertain whether this new vehicle will encounter another wave of intense public scrutiny or a fresh round of questions and crises.

Image Source: Weibo @Lei Jun

The upcoming press conference, themed "New Beginning," marks a turning point for Xiaomi and Lei Jun. The accident at the end of March appears to have been a watershed moment.

In an internal meeting, Lei Jun stated, "A sudden traffic accident has subjected us to torrential questions, criticisms, and accusations. No one anticipated the profound impact this accident would have, delivering a heavy blow to Xiaomi. Society and the public expect us to shoulder the responsibilities of a truly large company and industry leader. We deeply realize that this is an unavoidable responsibility for Xiaomi after 15 years. We are no longer newcomers in any industry and no longer enjoy a novice protection period. We must set higher standards and goals."

Image Source: Weibo @Lei Jun

While many netizens continue to support Lei Jun and Xiaomi, the mention of a "novice protection period" has sparked a fresh wave of criticism and questions. Coupled with the escalating controversy over returns of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the backlash against Xiaomi Automobile's "top traffic" status shows no signs of abating.

Order Cancellation Controversy

The SU7 Ultra, once hailed as "benchmarking Porsche," is now being denounced by car owners as "a 42,000 yuan holey cover!"

Numerous car owners opted to pay an additional 42,000 yuan for the optional "carbon fiber dual-airflow front hood," aiming for what Lei Jun described as "track-level aerodynamic design." However, upon disassembling the front hood, car owners discovered that the so-called "dual airflow" was merely two decorative holes, neither connected to the brake cooling system nor capable of guiding any airflow.

These car owners and potential buyers believe Xiaomi is guilty of false advertising and demand the return of their vehicles and deposits. However, the negotiation process has been far from smooth.

On May 15, online writer "FengyunXTony," with 2.04 million followers on Weibo, posted that as a potential owner of the perforated version of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, he had an offline meeting with Xiaomi Automobile Vice President Li and Sales and Delivery Service Department General Manager Zhang for over three hours but failed to reach a final agreement. "FengyunXTony" stated that Xiaomi claimed that order cancellations would directly lead to the collapse of Xiaomi Automobile. The blogger also revealed that their rights protection litigation group now comprises over 70 individuals, preparing to jointly sue Xiaomi Automobile for false advertising and demanding a refund plus triple compensation.

In response, Xiaomi Automobile Vice President Li Xiaoshuang tweeted on his personal Weibo account on May 16, saying, "I met many industry friends on business trips these two days and communicated with some car owners. Throughout the process, I never made any such claims."

However, shortly thereafter, multiple potential Xiaomi SU7 Ultra car owners revealed encountering a "60-day cooling-off period" for order cancellations. Screenshots shared by some car owners showed Xiaomi Automobile staff responding, "Based on the current situation, we will not continue production on your order, and the originally estimated delivery period is voided. If you wish to continue receiving the vehicle, you can contact us within 60 days to discuss resuming production. If you fail to communicate and apply for continued production within 60 days, it will be deemed that you indeed have no intention of receiving the vehicle, and we will then negotiate the cancellation of order-related matters."

The "60-day vehicle return cooling-off period" was ridiculed as yet another industry innovation by Xiaomi Automobile, igniting heated discussions once again.

Li Xiaoshuang noted that he was en route to the next city and would continue to communicate face-to-face with users. He believes that sincere communication to resolve issues will undoubtedly gain the recognition of users.

However, in the eyes of many car owners, "this is a classic case of consumer fraud! Those who have not received their vehicles should be refunded at the original price, and those who have received their vehicles must be compensated with one fake for every three genuine products."

Regarding Xiaomi Automobile's apology statement on May 7, acknowledging "unclear information expression" and offering limited-time modification services along with 20,000 points (approximately 2,000 yuan) as a gesture of goodwill, car owners remain unsatisfied, even deeming it a "paltry reward" (a derogatory term for giving meager compensation).

Image Source: Web Screenshot

In the view of some car owners and netizens, Xiaomi Automobile, on one hand, admits to unclear communication, but on the other, refuses to cancel orders, displaying an arrogant attitude.

Currently, negotiations between Xiaomi Automobile and rights-protecting car owners are ongoing.

Numerous Challenges

As the popularity of electric and intelligent vehicles surges, safety issues in new energy vehicles have sparked heated discussions on multiple occasions. Unlike automotive safety standards refined over centuries in the era of fuel vehicles, issues and statutory standards related to intelligent driving, battery safety, data security, etc., which have been constantly evolving in recent years, are still undergoing revisions and improvements both within and outside the industry.

As a new player in the automotive industry experiencing "top traffic," Xiaomi Automobile naturally bears the brunt of these challenges.

On May 16, Xiaomi Automobile released a new round of Q&A for netizens, addressing "online discussions about some deformation near the headlights of the front bumper of the Xiaomi SU7."

Xiaomi Automobile stated, "After investigation, we found that for a very small number of Xiaomi SU7 vehicles, the vehicle bumper may experience local deformation after prolonged exposure to sunlight due to inconsistent gap adjustments during installation and insufficient expansion and release space at the corner positions. If you encounter such a situation, we will provide you with free door-to-door pickup and delivery services as well as repair services (approximately 1 hour)."

Image Source: Web Screenshot

An automotive expert from the Zhejiang Consumer Protection Committee commented that the fender design of the Xiaomi SU7 is on the larger side, and when assembled, it is too tight with no gaps. Under solar radiation, it expands due to heat, causing the issue. This is attributed to insufficient experience in design and car manufacturing. With 12 years of experience in automotive complaints, he has never encountered such a situation before.

Whether due to heightened expectations from early promotions or cracks beginning to appear in trust in Lei Jun himself, many Xiaomi car owners are now scrutinizing their vehicles from various angles and details. Any issue can trigger significant public attention on social media.

As an intricate work of industrial manufacturing, automobiles have undergone over a century of evolution and refinement. Such scrutiny may seem harsh for a nascent enterprise that has only been building cars for a few years, but these were still "mutually beneficial" just a few months ago.

Rising and Falling Amidst Traffic Fluctuations.

According to information released by Lei Jun on his personal Weibo account, the Xiaomi strategic new product press conference to be held on May 22 will unveil significant new products, including the mobile phone SoC chip "Xiaomi Xuanjie o1," Xiaomi 15S Pro, Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra, and Xiaomi's first SUV, the "YU7."

Whether recent incidents and questions will impact the reputation and sales of the newly launched vehicles is a matter of great concern.

In recent weeks, Xiaomi Automobile sales have declined. According to terminal sales data provided by the China Automobile Dealers Association: in the 17th week of 2025 (April 21-27), Xiaomi Automobile's weekly terminal sales were 7,000 units, a 2.8% decrease from the 16th week; in the 18th week (April 28-May 4), weekly terminal sales were 5,700 units, a 18.8% decrease; and in the 19th week (May 4-11), sales were 5,200 units, a 9% decrease.

In Lei Jun's personal Weibo post on May 16, discussing Xiaomi's chip journey, he wrote, "Ten years of hardship have not dampened my passion!" If Xiaomi can navigate this crisis and look back on the present ten years after venturing into the automotive industry, it remains to be seen how Lei Jun will feel and whether he will recall his bold words from years ago: "The only way for us to succeed is to become one of the top five, with annual shipments exceeding 10 million vehicles. The competition will be fierce."

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