Industry dynamics

Xiaomi clarifies as rumors swirl about pricing of its first EV

Publishtime:1970-01-01 08:00:00 Views:31

Xiaomi SU7 is unlikely to be priced before its official launch, nothing has been finalized yet, an executive said.

(Image credit: Xiaomi EV)

Smartphone giant Xiaomi's first electric vehicle (EV) model is gaining a lot of social media buzz and rumors about pricing are circulating widely, though these have been denied.

"Until the end of the official Xiaomi EV product launch, all the information and posters with Xiaomi car variants and pricing are fake," Wang Hua, general manager of Xiaomi's public relations department, said on Weibo today.

Xiaomi gave the Xiaomi SU7 its debut at its December 28 tech launch and announced some of the model's specifications, but did not reveal any pricing information.

Over the past two days, several fake posters about the SU7's pricing -- some claiming the model's pre-sale price is RMB 599,000, others claiming it's RMB 369,000 -- have gone viral in WeChat groups as well as on Weibo.

The Xiaomi SU7 is unlikely to have its pricing and purchase rights announced before its official launch, and the so-called insider rumors shouldn't be trusted, Wang said on Weibo today.

No one knows the final price or even the model's official launch date, as nothing has been finalized yet, Wang said.

"How do you assess whether the pricing posters you see are real or not? It's simple, see if the official Xiaomi EV account has posted it, and see if I have posted it," he said.

Xiaomi officially announced its entry into car building on March 30, 2021, stating that it would invested RMB 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in its automotive business for the first phase, and expects to invest $10 billion over the next 10 years.

Xiaomi has high hopes for its first model, and the company's founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun said in a December interview with CCTV that he came into the car-making business with an aim to win.

Xiaomi hopes to become one of the world's top five carmakers through 15-20 years of efforts, and aims to be one of the first players in the smart driving space by 2024, Lei said on December 28.

This means that the pricing of the Xiaomi SU7 will be carefully considered, as it is key to determining the success of a new model when it is launched.

On January 2, Lei hinted in a Weibo that the Xiaomi SU7 will be the best in its class. Interacting with other users in the comments section of that Weibo, he claimed that the model has no rivals in the market priced at up to RMB 500,000 yuan.

These appear to be aimed at expectation management, as the Xiaomi SU7 could be targeting the market of about RMB 300,000 if it hopes to garner a lot of sales.

On December 26, Lei said on Weibo that the Xiaomi SU7 was in trial production and was still a few months away from an official launch.

($1 = RMB 7.1672)

Xiaomi unveils its 1st EV model SU7, aims to be among top 5 automakers globally in 20 years