Producer: Hui Tan Author: Guan Shan In the matter of making cars, Lei Jun, who is well versed in marketing, knows too well how to satisfy the public's appetite. On the afternoon of December 28, the first press conference of Xiaomi Auto was held in Beijing, but only technology, not products. Many years ago, Lei Jun released rumors that Xiaomi was going to build a car, but he did not make a clear statement, which made all kinds of speculations and discussions from the outside world. Two years ago, in 2021, Lei Jun officially announced the construction of a car and shouted "fight for Xiaomi cars", setting off a wave of ** climax. But just when everyone was eagerly looking forward to the advent of Xiaomi cars, Xiaomi made cars quietly. Except for Lei Jun's occasional revelation of a little information on social **, the outside world can't see any progress in Xiaomi's car manufacturing, which is really low-key and mysterious. It wasn't until mid-November this year that Xiaomi cars suddenly appeared in a list of cars released by the Ministry of Public Information, and Xiaomi's car manufacturing finally became a fact. Xiaomi Auto also took advantage of everyone's attention and enthusiasm to make a high-profile appearance, allowing the outside world to comment, or pursue, or complain. As for the pricing of Xiaomi cars that everyone is most concerned about, and the time of launch, there is still no answer. After that, the popularity of Xiaomi cars declined, and when the end of the year came, Lei Jun suddenly said that he was going to hold a Xiaomi car press conference, and everyone's interest came up again. This time, everyone thought that Xiaomi Auto was finally going to go on the market, but Lei Jun said that only the technology will be released, not the product. After a long time, he came out, still holding the pipa and half covering his face, is Lei Jun going to hang the public's appetite in mid-air?Looking at this set of plays, do you feel familiar?That's right!It's still the same set of gameplay as Xiaomi mobile phones, familiar formulas, and familiar tastes. Releasing the technology first is nothing more than to tell a wonderful story of Xiaomi's car manufacturing first, creating momentum for selling cars in the future and cheering up potential users. The electric vehicle market is seriously involuted and the competition is fierce, Lei Jun is now entering the game, it is really not a good time, what kind of car will he build in the end?Dream car SU7At this press conference, Lei Jun said that the goal of Xiaomi Auto is to be comparable to Porsche and Tesla, and to create a "dream car" in the new era. He also said that Xiaomi Auto will work hard in 15 to 20 years to "become the world's top five car manufacturers." After listening to Rebus's words, do you immediately think of the heroic words that "Jabbs" once said: "suffocate for dreams". 
Lei Jun believes that the sedan is the "spirit of the times", and it is more difficult to make a sedan than an SUV, so Xiaomi rose to the challenge, and the first car was a sedan, and emphasized that "science and technology leapfrog, people and vehicles are one." Lei Jun also said that Xiaomi car users are the elite of the times, and Mi Fan is happy after hearing this, right?To tell the truth, at this press conference, Lei Jun still talked about a lot of substance. As the first model of Xiaomi Auto released this time, Xiaomi Su7 is positioned as a C-class high-performance eco-technology sedan, benchmarking against the BMW 5 Series, with a body size of 4997mm 1963mm and a wheelbase of 3000mm. The three colors are also more fashionable, namely bay blue, elegant gray, and olive green. Lei Jun said that as an electric smart car, electric technology is its foundation, and Xiaomi has released three "hardcore" technologies, including Xiaomi super motor, CTB integrated battery technology and 9100 tons of integrated large die-casting equipment cluster system. Xiaomi cars are equipped with 101kWh CATL Kirin batteries, ternary lithium cells, and CLTC with a range of 800km. In Lei Jun's comparison, Xiaomi Auto has performance indicators that are not inferior to Tesla Model S, 0-100km h acceleration, 100km h-0 braking distance, and maximum speed are not lagging behind. Lei Jun also said that many industry experts were invited in the research and development process of Xiaomi Auto, and the R&D investment of Xiaomi Auto exceeded 10 billion. According to its introduction, Xiaomi's total investment in the first phase of full-stack self-developed intelligent driving technology has reached 3.3 billion yuan, and it has now increased to 4.7 billion yuan, with an exclusive team size of more than 1,000 peopleMore than 200 vehicles were tested;The test mileage is more than 10 million kilometers. Lei Jun said that intelligent driving is an emerging track that Xiaomi focuses on, and the goal is to enter the first camp of the industry in 2024. Lei Jun also announced that Xiaomi Surging OS was officially on the car. "With the release of Xiaomi's automotive technology, Xiaomi's 'people, cars and home ecology' has officially closed the loop. According to Lei Jun, it only takes 3 minutes for the whole package upgrade of the vehicle cockpit system of Xiaomi Auto, and only 30 minutes for the whole car to upgrade. **A bit priceyLei Jun said that the Xiaomi SU7 will be mass-produced and launched in the first half of 2024. Regarding the price that everyone is most concerned about, Lei Jun said that it has not yet been finalized, but it is expected to be "a bit expensive" and there will be two versions. He also added, "Although ** is a bit expensive, the product experience will exceed expectations." Prior to this, many people on the Internet said that since Xiaomi Auto claims to be "the first car for young people", it hopes that the price will be within 100,000, and some people say that it should not exceed 150,000 at most. But Lei Jun said at the press conference this time, "Don't shout 90,009, it's impossible!."Lei Jun believes, "Anyone with this kind of performance and configuration will have to be more than 400,000!."So 140,009 doesn't need to talk about it anymore, but we still have to respect technology!This statement of "respecting technology" sounds a little uncomfortable and makes rice fans feel a little disappointed. Lei Jun wants users to respect the technology of Xiaomi cars, so should Xiaomi cars also respect the wallets of young people?Those rice noodles who are bent on being cheap and cost-effective are afraid that they will be disappointed this time. Many netizens ridiculed, "If it is sold so expensive, you can only wait for the Redmi car." ”
Not long ago, there was a big V in the automobile circle, "**The price of Xiaomi cars: 300,000 up, 400,000 high, but it didn't take long to delete this information. The authenticity of this price cannot be determined, but whether it is from the products unveiled by Xiaomi cars not long ago, or from the information released by Lei Jun this time, the positioning of Xiaomi cars is not low-end, and the price will not be low. A conservative guess is that it could be between 20 and 300,000. However, even at this price, it is on the expensive side for many young people. Xiaomi once gave many young people their first smartphones, and now it is estimated that it will be difficult for young people to have their first smart cars. There is a lot of competitive pressureIf Xiaomi Auto is really in this ** range, the market competition is very fierce, and there are many opponents in this ** range. Judging from some of the older models, in addition to the Tesla Model 3, which is regarded as the number one opponent of Xiaomi SU7, there are also BYD Han EV and Xpeng P7. And the sales of these three models are good, the data shows that from January to November 2023, the cumulative sales of the Model 3 will exceed 110,000 units, the cumulative sales of the BYD Han family will exceed 180,000 units, and the cumulative sales of the Xpeng P7 will also exceed 40,000 units. 
There are even more new models in this price range, such as the AVATR 12, which starts at 300,000 yuan, and was launched in mid-November this year. Another example is NIO ET5, the price starts at 290,000, and according to official data, the amount in the first half of the year exceeded 100,000. There is also the ZEEKR 007 that opened for pre-sale on November 17, and it is said that only 9 days after Geely's official announcement, it received more than 250,000 orders, Galaxy E8, which also belongs to Geely Group, is also beckoning to users. And now it is the second half of electric vehicles, the competition is already very sufficient, Xiaomi is now late to enter the game, and the pressure can be imagined. In addition, Xiaomi Su7 is a pure electric sedan, this positioning is a bit "thankless", and the pressure is even greater. Not only facing the challenge of space, but also by the impact of SUVs, because car companies have taken the initiative to knock down the SUV, the cost-effective advantage of pure electric cars has greatly decreased. The data shows that the market share of new energy pure electric cars is also declining, from 77% in the first quarter of 2021 to 61% in the third quarter of 2023. In fact, the current sales growth rate of pure electric cars is also lower than the overall sales growth rate of pure electric cars. Also, the power battery is the heaviest cost of new energy vehicles, and Xiaomi, as a novice in the automotive field, has not yet had the technology and production capacity to get its hands on. Three advantagesHowever, in addition to the pressure, Xiaomi cars also have certain advantages. The first is in terms of capital, the cost of making cars is high, the investment is large, and many new car-making forces are still losing money, but Xiaomi has more funds. Judging from the financial report, as of September 30, 2023, Xiaomi has cash reserves of 127.6 billion yuan on its books, which has obvious financial advantages compared with many new car-making forces that rely on large financing but suffer heavy losses. The second is that Xiaomi has a very profitable business of mobile phones, which can feed back the automobile business, which is an advantage and confidence that many factories and enterprises do not have. The third is that Xiaomi understands the Internet better, attaches importance to user needs, and has a traffic advantage, from the introduction of Lei Jun's press conference, Xiaomi car according to user needs, some flashy new functions have been adjusted. In any case, it is much more difficult to build a car than to build a mobile phone, and Lei Jun dares to wade into this troubled water, which requires great courage and high risks. Whether he can finally realize his dream and whether Xiaomi can become one of the top five car manufacturers in the world will need to be tested by time. It's just that after this press conference, many rice fans who have cost-effective fantasies about Xiaomi cars may be dead.