MWC: Xiaomi SU7 EV to Target Premium Buyers; Pivotal to Smart Ecosystem

In addition to making its Xiaomi 14 series smartphones available globally and launching a number of new wearables, tablets and even a robotic dog, Xiaomi has shared some new information about its upcoming SU7 EV at the MWC 2024 exhibition. The company has talked about AI and how it aims to establish a comprehensive technology ecosystem for its users, and now it is ready to formally announce its strategy, which has been named “Human X Car X Home”. The XU7 serves as a key pillar of this, and everything is tied together under the company’s new HyperOS software umbrella.

In an interview with CNBC, Xiaomi Group President Weibing Lu stated that the company has decided on a premium price point for the XU7, which is justified by the company’s investments in it. According to Xiaomi, it has spent over RMB 10 billion (approximately Rs. 11,159 crore) on the project, which has over 3,400 engineers and 1,000 more “technical experts” working on it. This is in line with the company’s strategy of introducing newer smartphones and other products at higher prices, effectively repositioning the Xiaomi brand as more premium. 

The SU7 is described as a “full-size, high-performance eco-technology sedan”, and many initial buyers will be among Xiaomi’s 20-million-strong smartphone user base. Lu expects the EV market to coalesce within 20 years, with the top five brands accounting for about 70 percent of the entire market, and Xiaomi aims to be one of them. Following the launch of the SU7, Xiaomi will invest in building more factories for in-house component manufacturing. 

With its ecosystem play, Xiaomi wants its products, including the SU7, to anticipate users’ needs based on their behaviour, using AI. The car will initially be available only in China, but the overseas market is expected to account for a majority of sales eventually. MWC marks the first time that the device has been shown off to the European market, indicating a potential launch this year. Notably, the car is only on display behind a barrier and Xiaomi isn’t showing off its interior. 

Xiaomi says it aims to meet all the needs of its customers, with everything interconnected seamlessly to enable real-time coordination and collaboration across devices. Ultimately, over 200 types of products will be part of this ecosystem, which the company says should translate to over 600 million devices in use worldwide accounting for 95 percent of all use cases. No specific situations have been outlined yet, but Xiaomi also says it will engage with “global partners, developers and manufacturers” to populate its ecosystem and leverage even more potential use cases.

Xiaomi also touts its expertise with photography and robotics. Its latest high-end smartphones benefit from a technology and hardware collaboration with Leica, while the newly announced Cyberdog 2 robot uses a network of 19 sensors for vision, touch and hearing, and to inform its decision-making capabilities. The company also has significant assets in the manufacturing space, and says it is able to bring products to market at scale, in an agile and sustainable way.