For two minutes, this technical conference that whetted the appetite was made by Lei Jun to taste like an auction.
"Don't shout 90,000, it's impossible!"
There was laughter in the room. Off-the-counter Xiaomi shares fell in response.
"But anyone with this kind of performance and configuration has to be more than 400,000! So 140,000 9 doesn't need to talk about it anymore. ”
There was another burst of laughter in the room. Over-the-counter Xiaomi shares continue to fall.
At the end of the day, Xiaomi's shares fell 0.25% after engulfing a 2% gain.
On December 28, 2023, Lei Jun spoke on stage for three hours. For this long three hours, Xiaomi Auto invested 4.7 billion in cash, a dedicated team of more than 1,000 people, more than 200 test vehicles, more than 10 million kilometers of test mileage, and 1,003 days of waiting.
However, there is obviously still a gap between the unveiled Xiaomi car and the market's expectations. People find it impossible to buy a car from Lei Jun like a mobile phone. This time, people's expectations of Xiaomi's ultra-cost-effective products have been shattered.
In the second half of the press conference, Lei Jun tried to turn the tide and turn the topic to the advantages of Xiaomi's surging OS system. "Mobile phone + car machine, seamless docking and interconnection. "Xiaomi's strongest thing is ecology. ”
Early the next morning, Xiaomi Group's stock price fell more than 3% at the open.
From this moment on, Lei Jun's over-budget car dream came into reality, and the market's test of Xiaomi cars began immediately.
01
Porsche, Tesla: Coming at me?
At the first technology conference, Xiaomi Auto was "under great pressure".
On December 26th, the M9 was officially launched, and new tricks were rolled up in the dimension of intelligence, and the dazzling new functions made many car companies gasp;27th, ZEEKR 007 held a product launch conference, backed by Geely to continuously reduce the cost of car manufacturing with a large-scale effect, and threw a bombshell into the 20-300,000 level market with control and ultimate cost performance.
Intelligence and cost-effectiveness are considered to be the two most critical killer moves in the new energy melee, and they are also the "car-making persona" that is most in line with Xiaomi's positioning in the expectations of the outside world. The press conference is about to be held, but the seniors of the car circle have played cards in these two directions one after another, and they are open to the face, how does Xiaomi take over?
Maybe it's to respond to market expectations, maybe it's to brush a wave of presence in the fierce competition, maybe it's to improve the price expectations of rice noodles, on the 28th, Xiaomi Auto held a press conference that looked a little "not martial arts", only technology, not price. It doesn't matter when the question is made, the sound of turning the roll must be loud, and the new car can wait a little longer for the launch, but the customers who can grab it must grab it first.
The press conference was quite long, Lei Jun spoke on the stage for three hours, from the three-electric system to the large die-casting, from intelligent driving to the intelligent cockpit, from the design concept to the body safety...... Cover all aspects and tell the story. However, in the editor's opinion, it can be summed up in one sentence openly and secretly: "Don't buy it first, and then wait for Xiaomi." ”
However, investors don't seem to be buying it. During the press conference, the share price of Xiaomi Group, which had risen more than 2% in early trading, turned down, and on December 28, Xiaomi Auto fell more than 2% at the opening, and as of the time of press time, it was HK$15.72.
Judging from the previously revealed product information, Xiaomi SU7 has many bright spots. Similar to the design of the Porsche Taycan, the vehicle size is larger than the Tesla Model 3 and NIO ET5, equipped with Xiaomi's surging OS system, matching the self-developed intelligent driving system, with two battery capacities of 73.6kWh and 101kWh, and a CLTC range of 628km and a maximum of 800km......
If this car was born two years ago, it is indeed far ahead, but the industry involution is really serious, just look at these materials, except for the surging OS system is worth looking forward to, every other parameter is just a "reactive power" level, there is no obvious shortcoming, but there is no surprise that makes people shine.
Therefore, before the press conference, the industry generally believed that the positioning of Xiaomi cars was between 20-300,000 levels, benchmarking Extreme Krypton 007 and Zhijie S7, but after the press conference began, there were constantly car bloggers on social platforms to express their voices, "The more I listen, the more wrong it is, who are the friends who appear the most in this technical communication meeting?" Xiaomi seems to be really going to Porsche Taycan Trubo and Tesla Model S. ”
At the meeting, Lei Jun's three-hour system demonstrated the technical advantages of Xiaomi cars in the fields of motors, batteries, large die-casting, intelligent driving, intelligent cockpits, as well as the manufacturing concept and design details of SU7, and compared various data with friends to prove that Xiaomi cars are not inferior to Taycan Trubo and Model S.
And judging from the information revealed at the press conference, the ambition of Xiaomi Auto is by no means limited to being an obscure car company, Lei Jun shouted the slogan "Xiaomi's goal is to become one of the world's top five car manufacturers through 15-20 years of efforts, and it can wrestle with Porsche in terms of mechanical quality, and fight with Tesla in intelligence." ”
For this Flag, the onlookers did not buy it, "Although it is commonplace for the founder of new energy vehicles to brag at the press conference, but Xiaomi Auto has not been officially listed, and you are shouting to be the top five in the world, is it too early?"
Different from the attitude of the audience, many car companies still gave face to their new partners. The day before the press conference, Lei Jun was particularly active on social media. He posted 12 Weibo about Xiaomi cars in one breath, in addition to building momentum for himself, but also a number of Weibo tributes to BYD (002594), Weilai, Xiaopeng, ideal, Huawei and other peers, in addition to Huawei, other car companies have given a warm response, a happy and harmonious scene.
However, on the back side of the lively public opinion field, there is an industry pattern with surging undercurrents and dangers. In terms of intelligence, Tesla and Huawei are in the front, and there are not many skill points left for Xiaomi to light up. In terms of cost performance, the stick of "price butcher" has also been snatched away by other car companies that entered the game earlier and have more backgrounds. What's more serious is that the market no longer allows car companies to come up with products first and then slowly iterate, and the cruel "knockout game" has begun.
This means that as the latest new energy brand to be established, Xiaomi Auto has just walked out of the novice village, and it has encountered a group of "full-level bosses" who are eyeing each other, and if you want to kill in the encirclement and suppression, you must come up with enough dazzling technology or sincerity.
02
There were surprises, but the market was not so satisfied
Perhaps to understand the outside world's concerns about Xiaomi's manufacturing technology, at the beginning of the press conference, Lei Jun first introduced the three-electric technology and manufacturing process of Xiaomi cars.
In terms of motors, Lei Jun said that Xiaomi Auto has developed three generations of power motor technology, has applied for 155 patents, and has obtained 60 patents. The first generation, V6/V6s, with a speed of 21,000 rpm, has been mass-produced and put on the car, the second generation, V8s, 27,200 rpm, which is the global power motor speed ceiling, has been officially identified by the expert group, and will be put on the car in 2025; the third generation, the pre-developed carbon fiber radicalization and curing method, the laboratory has reached 35,000 rpm.
In terms of batteries, Lei Jun introduced the two-year joint research and development of 800V battery packs with CATL (300750), with a maximum voltage of 871V. In addition, Xiaomi has also developed its own CTB integrated battery technology, that is, the battery pack is made into a part of the body, and then used to replace the floor of the entire body, and the industry's first battery cell inversion technology. "At present, Xiaomi Auto is doing low-temperature tests in Mohe. In a low-temperature environment, the battery life retention rate of Xiaomi cars is higher in the same level, and the heating rate of the air conditioner is faster than that of the same level, and the charging speed is faster in the same level. Lei Jun said.
At this press conference, Xiaomi also released the super large die-casting technology, that is, the 9100-ton integrated die-casting process. Lei Jun revealed that the 6,000-ton die-casting used in Tesla's Shanghai factory is 9,000 tons in the latest factory, and Xiaomi's self-designed integrated large-scale die-casting system has surpassed Tesla.
However, it is generally believed that Xiaomi will be relatively strong in intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit, Lei Jun is more confident, and bluntly said that "Xiaomi was born to be big, so it is not afraid of the industry involution." In 2024, Xiaomi will enter the first camp of the intelligent driving industry. ”
At the press conference, Xiaomi Auto demonstrated the intelligent driving performance of Xiaomi Auto SU7 in scenarios such as congested road sections in the evening rush hour, three-dimensional parking buildings, and mechanical parking spaces through videos. It is worth mentioning that the intelligent driving of Xiaomi cars adopts an end-to-end perception decision-making model, which is self-developed by Xiaomi and is the first time in the world to be applied to a production car.
"The smart cockpit should be the strongest piece of Xiaomi Auto, and it is also what Mi Fan is most looking forward to. When introducing the intelligent cockpit of Xiaomi cars, Lei Jun said with confidence. It is reported that the Xiaomi cockpit is equipped with a large HUD and a flip-type instrument screen. At the same time, Xiaomi Mi Pad can be used as a rear row expansion screen to achieve five-screen linkage. It is reported that the Xiaomi smart cockpit is equipped with the Snapdragon 8295 cockpit chip.
Lei Jun said that with Xiaomi's surging OS on the car, the whole ecology of people, cars and homes has officially formed a closed loop. The specific advantages are reflected in three aspects:The central control ecological screen is the same as the mobile phone and tablet,You don't need to deliberately learn how to Xi how to operate;Fast startup、Fast startup、Fast upgrade-1.49 seconds start、Intelligent cockpit OTA upgrade only takes 3 minutes;Mobile phone + car machine,Seamless docking and interconnection,You can project the content of Xiaomi mobile phone to the large screen in the car。
"Xiaomi's strongest thing is ecology. Lei Jun said that the Xiaomi smart cockpit has a strong application ecology, and the Xiaomi tablet has more than 5,000 Apps, which will be on the car one after another. At the same time, Xiaomi's CarloT ecosystem will be fully open to third parties, using unified standardized interfaces, supporting the most abundant communication standard protocols, and lightweight transformation solutions for existing devices.
Lei Jun introduced quite hard, and the applause and cheers at the scene also came and went, but the stock price that began to fall from the process of the press conference showed that the capital market did not seem to buy it.
Perhaps these small surprises are not enough to support everyone's expectations for Lei Jun and Xiaomi cars.
A media person who watched the press conference throughout the whole process also said: "Looking at the whole scene, the intelligence is not as 'explosive' as expected, and my personal feelings are relatively calm, I don't think it is stronger than Huawei, but the performance is very good, indicating that Xiaomi cars may not take the low-cost route of extreme cost performance as expected by the market." Is that good news for rice noodles?"
03
What's harder than building a car is pricing
It is worth noting that although before the press conference, Lei Jun had already made a preventive shot with the price "indeed a bit expensive", but after the press conference, people are most concerned about the price, which may be inseparable from Xiaomi's own popular "king of cost performance" label.
In those years when copycat machines were rampant, very few mobile phone manufacturers took "extreme cost performance" as the biggest selling point, and the newly established Xiaomi noticed this market gap, with a sense of science and technology, extreme stacking and ultra-high cost performance and other labels, attracted a group of electronic product enthusiasts, and was quickly praised as the "altar", achieving a double harvest of operating income and fan feelings.
These rice noodles have accompanied Xiaomi to grow and become one of the top three brands in the world in terms of mobile phone shipments. Lei Jun has also said more than once that making up his mind to build a car is inseparable from the encouragement and support of rice noodles.
At the press conference of Xiaomi's official announcement of the car in 2021, Lei Jun said that he had received a special gift, a book sent by a rice fan named Wu Xiangyu, which was his shopping receipt on the Xiaomi Mall: I bought Xiaomi products worth 350,000 yuan in 6 years. And said to Lei Jun: I always believe in Xiaomi, which is a testimony that I grew up with Xiaomi. He also said that as long as Xiaomi makes a car, he will definitely buy it!
From an emotional point of view, the story of two-way running is very heartwarming, but from the perspective of business logic, the industry generally believes that although Xiaomi has always been good at using very competitive prices to break the market pattern, and has achieved success in many industries, this path may be difficult to achieve in the field of new energy vehicles, and it is difficult to convert the accumulated feelings of the mobile phone industry into sales in the automotive industry.
On the one hand, this is not that time, and the current situation of the new energy vehicle industry is very different from that of the mobile phone industry. The competition of different price points and different subdivisions is sufficient, to be high-end and high-end, to be cost-effective and cost-effective, for Xiaomi, the advantages of entering the new energy vehicles are much smaller than the advantages of entering the mobile phone industry.
On the other hand, in the face of different products, fans have different mentalities, mobile phones due to the low unit price, consumers are willing to pay the cost of trial and error, but the car attributes are special, due to the high unit price, long use time, the cost of trial and error is higher, and for users, safety will definitely be considered, and the factor that affects safety is the manufacturer's relevant R & D and production experience, in this regard, Xiaomi obviously has lessons to make up.
Judging from the configuration and design of the new car, Xiaomi Auto does not want to fight with other car companies in the low-price range. "90,009 is impossible, 140,009 doesn't need to be talked about anymore!" At the press conference, Lei Jun personally denied the outside world's speculation about the low price of Xiaomi cars. "Anyone with this kind of performance and configuration has to be more than 400,000! So 140,000 9 doesn't need to talk about it anymore, we still have to respect technology!"
At the end of the press conference, Lei Jun once again shared his journey and car-making story, different from the support and support when the car was announced, this time, more and more rice fans chose to play "moved but no money", "the price is estimated to make people sweat", "wait for the Redmi car" message.
However, although Lei Jun revealed that the price of SU7 is "indeed a bit expensive", he also emphasized that "it is reasonably expensive, and it will definitely exceed everyone's expectations in terms of experience." "There is still a long time before the new car is launched, can Xiaomi bring the same shock and surprise to Mifen as it did ten years ago?
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