Xiaomi SU7 production to be doubled to keep up with demand

The Xiaomi SU7’s aggressive pricing makes it a great value for money and is thus in high demand in China. Xiaomi has delivered more than 10,000 units of the SU7 in just 43 days and is aiming for 100,000 units in total sales for 2024. According to a new report from Financial Associated Press, it has already received 100,000 units or a year’s worth of orders, and it wants to ramp up production significantly to meet the soaring demand.

Citing multiple undisclosed sources, the Chinese publication says in its report that Xiaomi wants to add a second production shift for the SU7 and double its production time from 8 hours to 16 hours. The company manufactures the new electric car in a domestic factory that is spread across an area of 718,000 m²in the Yizhuang Development Zone in Beijing. With an expansion in the production capacity in the second phase in 2025, it will be able to manufacture 150,000 vehicles annually.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun stated that the company can manufacture 40 units of the SU7 per hour. Thus, it is expected that adding a second shift would increase the monthly production to nearly 20,000 units. The company recently increased the order quantity for one of the types of components from approximately 10,000 sets to more than 18,000 sets. Moreover, in April, Xiaomi started recruitment of front-line employees to gear up for double-shift production.

The Xiaomi SU7 is a large sedan like the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan, measuring 4,997 mm in length, 1,963 mm in width, and 1,455 mm in height. It has a 3,000 mm wheelbase and it offers 517 litres of boot space. It has a frunk, too, offering 105 litres of extra luggage space. It is available in a standard RWD variant, a Pro RWD variant, and a Max AWD variant.

The standard SU7 employs a single motor, which produces 220 kW (299 PS) and 400 Nm of torque. It takes 5.28 seconds for a 0-100 kph sprint and can achieve speeds up to 210 kph. It has a FinDreams Battery-sourced 73.6 kWh LFP battery that takes as little as 25 minutes for a 10-80% DC charging session and allows the car to travel 700 km on a full charge, as per CLTC.

The SU7 Pro uses the same motor, but it upgrades to a CATL-sourced 94.3 kWh LFP battery called ‘Shenxing.’ This battery has a slightly higher lowest 10-80% DC charging time of 30 minutes, but it leads to a much higher CLTC range of 830 km. The SU7 Pro also has a top speed of 210 kph, but it takes 5.7 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 kph.

The SU7 Max adds a second motor, and its two motors give it 495 (673 PS) of total power and 838 Nm of total torque. As a result, it takes only 2.78 seconds for a 0-100 kph sprint and it can achieve a much higher top speed of 265 kph. The motors get their juice from a CATL-made 101 NMC battery called ‘Qilin.’ This battery can go up from 10 to 80% charging level as quickly as 19 minutes and when fully charged, it gives the car a CLTC range of 800 km.

The Xiaomi SU7 retails at 215,900 yuan (approx. 27,500 euros) in the standard variant, 245,900 yuan (approx. 31,000 euros) in the Pro variant, and 299,900 yuan (approx. 38,000 euros) in the Max variant. According to a report from Reuters, there’s no plan to launch it outside China for the next three years. However, a new electric SUV may debut around the end of 2024.

cls.cn (in Chinese), reuters.com