World’s third-largest smartphone maker unveils its first car

A Chinese smartphone giant has beat Apple in the electric-car race with a Porsche Taycan competitor capable of a claimed 800km on a single charge.

The world’s third-biggest selling manufacturer of smartphones – Xiaomi – has unveiled its first vehicle, a sleek electric sedan known as the SU7.

The Porsche Taycan or Tesla Model S-sized SU7 claims up to 800km of driving range in lab testing and a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 2.78 seconds – powered by electric motors named after petrol engines.

The Chinese technology giant has bold ambitions for what is claimed to be an expanding range of cars, declaring it wants to be among the world’s Top Five selling car makers – ahead of the likes of Ford, Honda, General Motors and BMW – within 15 to 20 years.

Xiaomi is said to have plans to export its cars – after the SU7 launches in China in the first half of next year – but it is unclear when or if they will be built in right-hand drive for Australia.

Prices are yet to be revealed, but Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun told attendees at the car’s unveiling in China to “show some respect for the technology behind the car.”

There will initially be two Xiaomi SU7 models – the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive SU7 and dual-motor, all-wheel-drive SU7 Max – with more powerful versions to follow.

Xiaomi has designed three varieties of electric motor for the car which – whether intentional or unintentional – are named after internal-combustion engine: V6, V6s and V8s.

The SU7 base model uses the V6 electric motor developing 220kW and 400Nm, good for a claimed 0-100km/h acceleration time of 5.28 seconds, and a 668km claimed driving range in lenient CLTC lab testing from a 73.6kWh battery.

Meanwhile the SU7 Max combines the 220kW/400Nm V6 motor with the 275kW/500Nm V6s for system outputs of 495kW and 838Nm, capable of a claimed 0-100km/h time of 2.78 seconds.

Xiaomi claims a quarter-mile (402m) drag-racing sprint time of 11.13 seconds, a top speed of 265km/h, and an 800km claimed CLTC range from a 101kWh battery pack built by China’s CATL.

Fast charging at 875 volts is said to be capable of adding 510km of range to the Max’s battery in 15 minutes.

The top-of-the-range V8s electric motor is due in 2025, and is claimed to produce up to 500kW and 635Nm spinning at speeds of up to 27,200rpm (compared to 21,000rpm for the V6 and V6s).

Xiaomi claims a theoretical maximum driving range of more than 1200km in CLTC testing from an even larger 150kWh battery pack, which the platform can support.

Underpinning the SU7 is an electric-car architecture dubbed Modena, and its body measures 4997mm long, 1963mm wide and 1455mm tall, on a 3000mm wheelbase (distance between the front and rear wheels)

Compared to a Porsche Taycan it is slightly longer overall – but 100mm taller and longer between the wheels – while it is similar in overall length and height, 60mm wider and 85mm longer in wheelbase compared to the final V8 Holden Commodore.

The car was designed under Xiaomi design boss Tianyuan Li, who is said to have contributed to the BMW iX SUV and i Vision Circular concept while at various outposts of the German car giant from 2012 to 2021.

Xiaomi claims a drag coefficient of 0.195, which would make it the most aerodynamically-efficient production car ever built.

The rear structure of the SU7 is created from a single metal casting – produced on a circa-8200-tonne casting machine – similar to ‘gigacasting’ techniques used by Tesla.

Inside the SU7 is a 16.1-inch infotainment touchscreen, a slim instrument display ahead of the driver, a 56-inch head-up display, and hints of Porsche design cues in the front sports seats, and circular buttons on the steering wheel.

The Xiaomi car uses the company’s in-house-developed autonomous driving technology which will reportedly be capable of assisted driving through certain cities in China by the end of next year.

It uses one lidar, three millimetre-wave radars, 11 camera and 12 ultrasonic radars, powered by computer chips supplied by US tech giant Nvidia.

The Xiaomi SU7 is due in Chinese showrooms in the first half of next year, built in a factory in China. Plans for right-hand-drive versions are yet to be announced.

Founded in 2010, Xiaomi became the largest seller of smartphones in China in 2014, and reportedly accounted for about 14 per cent of the global smartphone market between July and September 2023 – behind Apple’s 18 per cent, and Samsung’s 20 per cent.

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