Xiaomi car price conjecture: the top configuration exceeds 300,000 to benchmark Model 3, and 200,000 people at the entry level say "send surprises"

Tencent Auto "High Beam" Author: Liu Kanshun Guo Yifei

The war of new energy vehicles has been fierce to this day, and the last player to enter the game, Xiaomi, will finally officially debut on March 28.

At the end of December last year, after Lei Jun took 10 billion US dollars, "staked all the achievements and reputation", and officially announced the car 1003 days later, the first model SU7 was unveiled.

"The 99,000 yuan, 149,000 yuan and even 199,000 yuan that everyone shouted were all joking. Lei Jun once said that SU7 is equivalent to the performance of two or three million luxury cars in traditional fuel vehicles, the configuration is very strong, and the cost is also very high, "It is indeed a bit expensive, but please believe that what we do is 'expensive for a reason'."

Tencent Auto's "High Beam" learned that SU7 may launch 3 models, taking into account efficiency and brand considerations, including the known 668km rear-wheel drive standard version based on the 800V architecture, the 800km four-wheel drive Max version, and 1 entry-level model officially called "surprise" by Xiaomi Auto, this car will be based on the 400V architecture, and it is also a model that further lowers the threshold for car purchase in terms of price.

A senior executive of a leading car company told Tencent Auto's "High Beam" that the collective price reduction of many models at the beginning of the year directly forced Xiaomi to encounter pricing problems, if you want to sell, it will be less than 200,000, and if you want to build a brand and high-end, you must go up to 300,000. "Everyone is waiting to adjust their sales strategy. ”

According to the statistics of the Passenger Association, in the past five years, the proportion of 20-300,000 yuan models in the pure electric market has increased to 23.4%, and Xiaomi, which wanted to take the mid-to-high-end route, was forced to enter this most competitive market segment. Looking around, in 2024 alone, there will be a number of new energy models such as the ZEEKR facelift 001, Ideal L6, NIO Ledao, and Xpeng P6 on the market.

Another person in charge of marketing of a car company told Tencent Auto's "High Beam" that Lei Jun's victory in Kingsoft and Xiaomi mobile phones, coupled with its own marketing advantages, must be an opponent that cannot be underestimated. At present, the industry's production capacity is in a stage of overcapacity, and new players can use the advantage of volume to get a lower cost of making cars, so the first car must be a best-selling car within 200,000.

"If the first car doesn't move, it's going to be hard to do later. Let's live first to exchange price for quantity, and see how much Lei is willing to lose. He judged.

According to Xiaomi's latest financial report, by the end of 2023, the company's cash reserves will reach a record high of 136.3 billion yuan, and it will also exceed many competitors including Ideal and BYD.

Some car reviewers who have test-driven the Xiaomi SU7 four-wheel drive Max version commented on their feelings to Tencent Auto's "High Beam": In terms of driving quality, it is not at all like the products made by companies that made cars for the first time.

800km四驱Max版或是SU7"顶配版"

In the latest positioning of Lu Weibing, president of Xiaomi Group, the SU7 is a C-class high-performance eco-tech sedan, "with excellent performance, configuration and experience".

Just last week, Xiaomi SU7 held a national media test drive warm-up experience event in Beijing.

It is understood that the model of this experience is the SU7 four-wheel drive Max version, based on the 800V architecture, equipped with 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels and sports tires, and equipped with a front induction asynchronous + rear permanent magnet synchronous dual motor, the total power of the drive motor is 495kW (673Ps), the comprehensive torque reaches 838N·m, and is equipped with a 101kWh ternary lithium battery pack (CATL), CLTC mileage of 800km. In addition, the car also features an independent suspension system with double wishbones at the front and a five-link at the rear, as well as air suspension with adjustable soft and hard and height.

In terms of driving assistance, the Xiaomi SU7 four-wheel drive Max version of this experience is equipped with Xiaomi Pilot intelligent driving system, and the hardware level includes 1 128-line lidar, dual front front perception camera, 11 whole car camera, 1 in-car camera, 12 ultrasonic radar, 3 millimeter wave radar, and it is also equipped with dual NVIDIA Orin-X chips, supporting L2 level driving assistance functions, and realizing NOA intelligent navigation functions in loops and high-speed sections, including automatic paralleling, access gates, etc.

A car reviewer who participated in the test drive told Tencent Auto's "High Beam" that the materials and workmanship in the Xiaomi SU7 car are more realistic, the technology and comfort configuration are also full, and the vehicle handling is also close to the German luxury brand sedan, and the chassis has a certain toughness and comfort while being solid and sporty. The car machine is also equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip,Combined with Xiaomi surging OS,The response speed and basic applications of the car machine are very mainstream,Most of the functions can be completed by voice,The current open Xiaomi ecological adaptation rate and practicability are relatively high。

This car critic believes that after all, this is the first car built by a technology company, and if compared with the first model launched by Xpeng Motors in 2018, the Xpeng G3, the Xiaomi SU7 can be said to be at the level of a "luxury car".

At present, based on multiple sources, it can be basically determined that the 800km four-wheel drive Max version is the "top version" model of Xiaomi SU7, and the follow-up does not rule out the possibility of supplementing the Ultra version to become the new flagship according to the market situation.

The top allocation may exceed 339,000 yuan, "to pay a little purchase tax"

"Leopard Change" quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that the high and low versions of Xiaomi SU7 are mainly benchmarked against Tesla Model 3 and Extreme Krypton 001, not only with similar configurations, but also with a comprehensive price, "Compared with last year, the price has been reduced by 30,000 to 50,000 yuan." At present, the standard version may be priced from 266,000 yuan, and the high-end version is positioned at 336,000 yuan." However, this statement was subsequently denied by Xiaomi.

At the same time, He Lei, CEO of New Mobility, recently broke the news that "you still have to pay a little purchase tax to buy the top match of Xiaomi SU7". According to the new energy purchase tax reduction policy, before the end of 2025, only the purchase of models of 339,000 yuan and below will be exempted from the purchase tax.

Judging from the configuration and performance of the Xiaomi SU7 800km four-wheel drive Max version, it is very likely that the price will exceed 339,000 yuan - only the ternary lithium battery in cooperation with CATL will cost 120,000 yuan.

Take Xiaomi SU7 top version and Tesla Model 3 long-range all-wheel drive version (price 285,900 yuan) comparison, first of all, in terms of vehicle size, the former is a medium and large car, the latter is only a medium-sized car;

In addition, in terms of intelligent driving, the Model 3 must be equipped with fully autonomous driving capabilities worth 64,000 yuan to compete, but this also makes the total price of the vehicle climb to 349,900 yuan. Even so, in terms of intelligent car machine and ecology, it is still not as advantageous as SU7.

The standard version may be sold from 266,000 yuan, which is the key car for volume exchange

If the top model priced at more than 300,000 yuan is used to establish a high-end image, the standard version is the key model of Xiaomi car replacement.

The standard version officially said by Xiaomi Auto is actually the 668km rear-wheel drive standard version also based on the 800V architecture, and the benchmark model is the 2024 ZEEKR 001 (priced at 269,000-329,000 yuan).

The level of these two models belongs to medium and large cars, the size of the Krypton 001 is slightly larger, the same is the form of rear drive, Krypton 001 has a slight advantage in performance, and it is also equipped with a 100kWh battery, so the cruising range is also smaller than that of Xiaomi SU7.

Among them, Xiaomi SU7 is more inclined to intelligent ecological applications and driving assistance, mainly in the car machine hardware, software applications are more abundant, and at the same time, the number of millimeter wave radars at the level of intelligent driving, Nvidia Orin-X chip computing power and other capabilities are stronger, including automatic parking, tracking reversing, remote summoning, etc., including intelligent navigation assistance functions, while Zeekrypton 001 needs to be optional to have.

ZEEKR 001 pays more attention to driving experience and interior comfort, compared to the whole car electric suction door, headlight rain and fog mode, AR-HUD augmented reality head-up display, variable steering ratio, front seat electric memory, seat leg rest adjustment, rear independent air conditioning, etc.

Judging from the configuration comparison, the two models are comparable, but the corresponding car needs are different. The Xiaomi SU7 Standard Edition is more suitable for consumers with high demands for technology applications, while the ZEEKR 001 WE Edition is more suitable for consumers who pursue driving pleasure and comfort. Therefore, if the price of the Xiaomi SU7 standard version model is about 266,000 yuan, this is not "inflated".

If the entry version starts at 199,000 yuan, lose money and make money?

Although the high and low configurations are not inferior to the rival Xiaomi in terms of price and configuration, in 2024, under the market competition of independent medium-sized cars and medium and large cars, it may make Xiaomi Auto, a novice, "pay some tuition". After all, the representative of medium-sized cars, Krypton 007, rolled out a starting price of 209,900 yuan, and Xiaopeng P7i only needs 203,900 yuan after the terminal discount;

Among them, BYD Han, which is also a medium and large car, has won the sales championship of this class of models for two consecutive years, and the sales volume in 2023 will reach 227,700 units, which has broken the dominance of Japanese brands in the 200,000-yuan model market.

A staff member of Xiaomi Auto told Tencent Auto's "High Beam" that when it was launched on March 28, it would also bring a model based on the 400V architecture, and the pricing would bring "surprises" to everyone.

It is not difficult to guess that this car should be an entry-level model that can lower the purchase threshold, but the starting price of 199,000 yuan circulating on the Internet has been denied by Lei Jun himself before.

According to a recent survey of Xiaomi mobile phone users using cars by the automotive information service agency Jielan Road, about 13% of new energy vehicle owners are using Xiaomi mobile phones, and the proportion of young, technological attributes and economic entry-level models using Xiaomi mobile phones is relatively high, including Xiaopeng, Deep Blue, Leap, BYD, etc., but on the whole, it is more scattered, and there is no single model of "rice powder exclusive".

Judging from the top 10 models, the price is basically maintained in the price range of 100,000-250,000 yuan, such as BYD Song Pro DM-i, Xpeng G6, Wuling Starlight, BYD Seagull, etc.

On the whole, if Xiaomi SU7 launches an entry-level model, priced within 200,000 yuan, then Xiaomi Auto may "lose money and make money". After all, as a new player, when negotiating prices with suppliers, Xiaomi is not enough to convince them to give them a procurement cost advantage comparable to that of established car companies such as BYD and Geely.

One detail highlights the marketing anxiety of Xiaomi Auto. Open the APP of the Xiaomi series, and almost all the open screens are appointment advertisements for Xiaomi cars. Tencent Auto's "High Beam" randomly selected one of the stores, and only 1 minute after making an appointment for tasting, the sales staff of the corresponding store immediately called, sent warm greetings and invitations, and introduced the process of the tasting meeting in detail, which was not as eager to sell cars as in the past 4S store sales.

In the face of the slowdown in the growth of the new energy vehicle market and the increasingly fierce price war, in the most complex and complex automotive industry, it is not easy for Xiaomi Auto to win this tough battle by relying on traffic and marketing advantages alone.