Xiaomi Auto has saved a new height, supercharging against Xiaopeng, and crushing Tesla
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially released the latest batch of new energy vehicle product announcements. Among them, Xiaomi SU7 is impressively listed, and it can be regarded as officially getting the "birth permit".
In the product announcement, the battery information of Xiaomi cars was officially exposed. It is equipped with two battery packs, 101 kWh and 73.6 kWh, respectively, from CATL and BYD. Xiaomi also officially confirmed that the high-end model is equipped with the latest Kirin battery of CATL. At the same time, the other two pieces of information are also very intriguing, that is, the curb weight of Xiaomi cars has achieved 2.2 tons, and the longest range is more than 800km, which are also the top level today.
What is the level of these parameters of Xiaomi SU7? Can you wrestle with today's first-line products? Let Kung Fu Auto take you to take a look.
(1) Supercharging benchmarks Xpeng and crushes Tesla V4
According to the information disclosed by Xiaomi, the Kirin battery carried by SU7 is the highest version at present, using the most efficient sandwich cooling system, and the charging rate has reached more than 4C, which also means that the charging power of SU7 will at least exceed 400kW.
In 2022, which has just been unveiled, Kirin battery was named the best invention of 2022 by Time magazine (TIME) in the United States, and then won the German 2023 Automotive Innovation Award, which can be said to stand at the top of current power battery technology. The sandwich cooling system composed of a large liquid cold plate + liquid cooling tube + copper alloy substrate has been considered the biggest difficulty of the Kirin battery before, so that many of the initial versions of the Kirin battery are "shrunk", but Xiaomi SU7 directly uses the latest version.
Compared with other batteries, the advantages of Kirin batteries are mainly two points, the first is that the energy density is large, far exceeding that of Tesla 4680, and a larger capacity battery can be put into a smaller space, and the second is overcharging, and the charging speed of 400kW+ is definitely the current top stream. You must know that Tesla's V4 (currently only V3 in China) supercharging pile, which has just begun to be popularized, has a maximum charging power of only 350kW.
But we all know that whether the supercharge is good or not, the key is to see whether there are enough supercharging piles. Otherwise, Xpeng's S4 480kW supercharge would have dominated the rivers and lakes long ago. As early as 2019, the maximum charging power of the Porsche Taycan reached 350kW, but it did not establish market influence at all, because its charging piles can only be found in 4S stores, which is really of little significance to ordinary consumers.
The reason why Tesla's supercharge has a good reputation is because of the number of 10,000+ in China. While 250kW isn't impressive, it's enough to win. But Tesla's disadvantages are also obvious, one is that the speed is a little unable to keep up with the current perspective, and the second is that it is too expensive. At present, the price of Tesla's overcharging is basically between 1.85-2.45 yuan/kWh, and now most places are above 2 yuan/kWh, which really makes users feel that electricity is not cheap.
What is Xiaomi best at? Of course, it is to bring down the price. If Xiaomi can bring down the charging price of supercharging, it will definitely greatly promote the promotion of supercharging technology, just like the disruption in the smartphone market back then.
(2) How to refine the ultimate power consumption?
This time, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also announced the range information of the Xiaomi SU7, with a maximum range of 800km (two-wheel drive version) for the 101kWh battery pack and 668km (two-wheel drive version) for the 73.6kWh battery pack, which is a very revolutionary concept.
What is the concept of a 101kWh battery pack running 800km? This means that the Xiaomi SU7 consumes only 12.6kWh/100km per 100km. You must know that SU7 is a medium and large pure electric sedan close to 5 meters, this achievement is absolutely amazing. For comparison, the Tesla Model 3 consumes 12.5 kWh/100 km, which is a whole level lower than the SU7. The power consumption of the Xpeng P7 is 13.6kWh/100km, which is also half a level lower.
Comparing the NIO ET7 and VOYAH Chasing Light, which are also C-segment sedans, the former has a power consumption of 16kWh/100km, while the latter has a power consumption of 15.6kWh/100km. Of course, both cars are full of four-wheel drive, but they are also four-wheel drive versions, and the power consumption of the Xiaomi SU7 is much lower than them.
The only model that can be close to or equal to the Xiaomi SU7 in this regard is probably the Zhijie S7, which is also thanks to the latest DriveONE 800V silicon carbide high-voltage power platform. It's just that Huawei and Xiaomi have gone the same way in some aspects after changing battlefields.
Of course, in addition to extremely low wind resistance and higher motor efficiency, it is also very important to reduce the weight of the motor to achieve ultra-low power consumption. The curb weight of the top version of the Xiaomi SU7 is only 2205kg, which is also a very exaggerated figure. As a comparison, the curb weight of the high-end version of the NIO ET7 is 2379kg, which is also nearly 200kg lighter. Even the dual-motor version of the Tesla Model 3 has a curb weight of 2255kg, and the entry-level B-segment sedan is heavier than the C-segment car.
Whether Xiaomi's extreme quality has major innovations in architecture and materials, or whether it is secretly "cutting corners", it is currently unknown. But as a model that Lei Jun gambled on all, I personally prefer the former.
(3) How is the whole ecology of people, cars and homes compared to Hongmeng?
As mentioned earlier, supercharging, lightweight, and ultra-low power consumption are definitely a plus for Xiaomi SU7, which is Xiaomi's ticket to enter the automotive field, allowing consumers to feel the cost performance.
But compared to everyone's expectations for Xiaomi, it is obviously not enough to do this. Because what Xiaomi can do, other manufacturers can also do, the new version of the Kirin battery will also be installed in other models, and the lightweight technology will not have too many secrets. So which one will be Xiaomi's killer feature? It should still be the latest Xiaomi surging OS system.
In October this year, Xiaomi launched a new operating system, Xiaomi HyperOS, which replaced the already popular MIUI. Lei Jun said at the time that the surging OS is an epoch-making milestone for Xiaomi, and it is also a key leap for Xiaomi to move towards "the whole ecology of people, cars and homes". After persisting for 13 years, Xiaomi, like Huawei, has also embarked on the road of independent research and development of its operating system.
Like Huawei's HarmonyOS system, The Paper OS is also developed based on the deeply evolved Android system, and then integrated with Xiaomi's self-developed Vela system. In order to achieve this, Xiaomi has completely rewritten the underlying architecture, which is also a public base for the Internet of Everything for future device connections. According to Xiaomi's official statement, the surging OS will be compatible with the Android ecosystem in the early stage, and then step by step towards independence.
Rewriting the underlying architecture is certainly a super large engineering system, but it also has an advantage for Xiaomi, that is, Huawei has proven that this path is feasible, and to some extent, it can be regarded as "crossing the river by feeling Huawei". After all, in the era of the Internet of Everything, the connection between various terminals has become closer and closer, and if you can't develop your own operating system, you can't bring consumers a differentiated experience.
Fortunately, Xiaomi is not a maverick either, and old rivals Huawei and Meizu have both entered the automotive industry. Xiaomi can be regarded as standing on the shoulders of others this time, and it can be said that Xiaomi's favorite rhythm. As for whether it can be done, it depends on the next press conference.
(4) Kung Fu shooting
Recently, I communicated with a friend who works in Xiaomi Auto, and in addition to this information that can be found on the Internet, I really didn't disclose anything, and I have to say that I was a little discouraged. It is rumored on the Internet that Xiaomi is about to release a new car on the 28th, and now there is no rumor at all, this confidentiality measure is indeed the top in the industry.
Wait a little longer, we will soon see the final suspense "price", and look forward to the performance of a Xiaomi surging OS when connecting "people, cars, and homes".