Xiaomi, the Chinese brand once synonymous with affordable smartphones, is now gearing up to launch its first electric car. Presented at the event in Beijing, Xiaomi SU7 is a sedan based on its Modena Architecture with HyperEngine electric motors. The line has two variants: the two-motor four-wheel drive SU7 Max and the single-motor rear-wheel drive SU7.
Xiaomi hasn’t announced pricing yet, but it says the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800km (according to China’s CLTC light vehicle test cycle) and a 0-100km/h time of 2.78s, better than the Model S from Tesla and the Taycan Turbo from Porsche. This is made possible in part by battery manufacturer CATL’s 800 V platform with a capacity of 101 kWh, which can restore a range of 220 km in 5 minutes of recharging, 390 km in 10 minutes and 510 km in 15 minutes.
To implement this project, Xiaomi hired talents from the automotive industry. In particular, CEO Lei Jun said that Tianyuan Li, who previously worked on the BMW iX and Vision series concepts, offered himself to the Xiaomi car design team. Li was also joined by James Qiu, who previously worked on the design of the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX. They later hired BMW veteran Chris Bangle as a design consultant, Engadget reports.
The SU7 is roughly the same size as the BMW 5 Series: 1,440mm tall, 1,963mm wide and 4,997mm long. There are three color options: signature “aqua blue”, gray or olive green. Ley emphasized that there is a lot of legroom in the cabin, and the trunk volume is 517 liters in the back and 105 liters in the front.
At the presentation, Lei drew attention to such details as the headlights in the form of water droplets, each of which resembles the Chinese character “rice” (mi Xiaomi), as well as the halo of the rear brake light made of 360 LEDs.
The SU7 will offer an in-car entertainment system based on the HyperOS operating system, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 processor, which boots in just 1.49 seconds. You can adjust the seats or even control Xiaomi home appliances through the 16.1-inch 3K screen, as well as with the optional Xiaomi Pad tablets that can be installed on the magnetic ports (up to 22.5W) with two front headrests. The center screen interface allows you to use three split windows for multitasking, and you can even bring your Xiaomi phone screen to it for a smooth experience. 23 Dolby Atmos speakers are installed for music and video entertainment.
