The Xiaomi YU7 has arrived, but Lei Jun has not relaxed yet

Author | Wang Xiaojun

Editor | Chai Xuchen

Amidst the external observation, the Xiaomi YU7 has finally arrived.

On May 22, coinciding with Xiaomi's 15th anniversary, Xiaomi Group founder and chairman Lei Jun spent two hours launching a series of strategic products, marking a new starting point for Xiaomi's 15th anniversary. Among them, the most attention-grabbing were the Xuanjie O1 chip and the new car Xiaomi YU7. Although the price of the Xiaomi YU7 was not announced, nor was a small order initiated, the Xiaomi YU7 remained the highlight of the entire launch event.

However, during this launch event, Lei Jun did not directly respond to the recent series of doubts from the outside world regarding Xiaomi's foray into the automotive industry. But not everything went smoothly; changes are quietly occurring.

Looking back, during the first launch of the Xiaomi SU7, Lei Jun spent nearly three hours discussing new technologies in car manufacturing, with safety being just one part of it. But this time at the YU7 launch, safety became the main event. Over the course of more than an hour, he mentioned "safety" dozens of times, and in terms of safety hardware, he also mentioned the armored cage-style steel-aluminum hybrid body, among other features.

Moreover, there have been changes regarding the auxiliary driving system, which has been a point of controversy in recent accidents. This time, Lei Jun first introduced the hardware for the auxiliary driving system equipped on the YU7. He then emphasized that the Xiaomi YU7 will come standard with laser radar across the entire lineup.

In comparison, the laser radar improves detection distance and the accuracy of identifying irregular obstacles compared to versions without it. Previously, the model involved in accidents was the standard version of the Xiaomi SU7, which did not have laser radar.

These changes can be seen as an indirect response to the previous accidents.

At the first launch of the Xiaomi YU7, the highlights of the entire vehicle were primarily its exterior proportions, electric inward-folding door handles, the Xiaomi Horizon screen panoramic display in terms of intelligence, and the first batch equipped with the next-generation high-performance Thor chip, along with the standard laser radar for the auxiliary driving system.

In terms of auxiliary driving, Xiaomi referred to it this time as a full-blooded standard across the entire lineup, with hardware including the Thor chip, one laser radar, one 4D millimeter-wave radar, eleven high-definition cameras, and twelve ultrasonic radars.

To attract young users with aesthetics is the secret to Xiaomi's successful practice with the SU7. In the YU7, Xiaomi continues to emphasize its visual appeal. Lei Jun stated that the Xiaomi YU7 is not simply a "higher version of the SU7," but a fundamentally different first SUV from Xiaomi.

During the launch, Lei Jun introduced several visually appealing proportions based on the car's dimensions of 4999×1996×1600mm, including a 3-fold wheelbase ratio, a 2.1-fold wheel height ratio, and a 1.25-fold width-to-height ratio.

Interestingly, prior to this launch event, Ferrari China had posted on its official social media with the title "Mr. Ferrari's Exclusive Purosangue," featuring a green-colored model and stating, "The beauty of customization comes from the bond of color. Over 60 years, unique colors reshape the classics." This was interpreted by netizens as a veiled criticism of Xiaomi YU7's design inspiration However, Xiaomi did not mention Ferrari. From the previous release of the model name, it was clear that this car is aimed at Tesla's Model Y.

When Xiaomi first announced the YU7, it coincided with the launch of the refreshed Model Y, and Tesla stated on Weibo, "Despite the comparison," to which Lei Jun enthusiastically retweeted and replied, "Okay." At that time, Xiaomi introduced that "YU" stands for "Y Ultra," meaning a stronger Model Y.

Although at this press conference, Lei Jun emphasized that "YU" is derived from the meaning of "riding the wind," he still made a comprehensive comparison between the Xiaomi YU7 and Tesla Model Y.

From the SKU perspective, both cars have three versions: standard, Pro, and Max. In the aspects being compared, the Xiaomi YU7 seems to be stronger. Besides being larger in size, in terms of range, when comparing the standard versions, the Xiaomi YU7 standard version uses a 96.3 kWh battery pack with a range of 835 km, while the Model Y standard version is equipped with a 62.5 kWh battery pack with a range of 590 km.

Additionally, the Xiaomi YU7 comes standard with a panoramic screen, laser radar, continuously variable dampers, and an 800V high-voltage architecture. Lei Jun mentioned that just these configurations should cost about 60,000 to 70,000 yuan more than the Model Y, which has a starting price of 263,500 yuan.

However, industry insiders pointed out that this comparison did not take into account the weight of the two cars. In terms of the standard version, the Xiaomi YU7 is nearly 300 kg heavier than the Model Y, which means higher energy consumption and greater inertia, thus requiring better braking performance.

Beyond the laboratory comparison data, the strengths of both companies still need to be validated by the market. Before the Xiaomi YU7 enters the market, last year the automotive industry had "six major factions besieging Tesla," but the result was that the Model Y proved to be more resilient.

Next, it will depend on whether the YU7 can continue to sell well like the SU7 after its launch in July.

However, scalpers have already taken action. On second-hand platforms, there are dozens of posts related to "Xiaomi YU7 F code," "Xiaomi YU internal channel first batch of car deliveries," with prices ranging from 1,800 yuan to 6,000 yuan. Among them, one post priced at 2,000 yuan has over 200 people expressing interest.

It is evident that regardless of the outcome, the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 will not be low. Having experienced the downside of traffic, Xiaomi clearly needs to treat the phenomenon of explosive popularity with more caution.

Recently, Lei Jun mentioned in an internal speech that, based on external expectations of Xiaomi, the company is no longer a newcomer in the automotive circle. With more models being launched, Xiaomi is indeed no longer a newcomer in the automotive industry, having crossed the rookie protection period, and various inquiries from the automotive industry now need to be answered by Xiaomi, including recent criticisms.

Although Lei Jun still appeared passionate at this press conference, his voice breaking from excitement, many audience members noted that this time he seemed noticeably more cautious and less relaxed and confident than before.

Clearly, after nearly two months of headwinds, Xiaomi's car manufacturing needs not just the next blockbuster new car, but also to regain user confidence and enter the competition in the automotive circle with a more assured posture