Xiaomi CEO said the event will be about technology only and not products, meaning the Xiaomi SU7 could still be a while away from an official launch.
(An image of Xiaomi’s first EV from a regulatory filing.)
Xiaomi EV, the car-making arm of Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, announced on Weibo today that it will hold a technology launch event on December 28, starting at 2:00 pm Beijing time.
Xiaomi EV’s official Weibo account was only opened last night, and this is the first announcement from the account. Xiaomi EV currently has 68,000 followers on Weibo.
It’s worth noting that the launch will be technology-related only, not products, Xiaomi chairman and CEO Lei Jun said on Weibo.
Earlier rumors suggested that Xiaomi would hold the launch of its first EV model, the SU7, on December 28, which was later denied.
Unlike smartphone launches which usually have just one launch event, many car companies typically hold several events before the official launch of a new model.
The first one to start is usually a technology launch, followed by a pre-sale launch and finally the official launch. This practice helps a new model gain more buzz in the months leading up to its official launch, which in turn helps higher initial orders.
Xiaomi’s first EV model is a mid-to-large-sized sedan with length, width and height of 4,997 mm, 1,963 mm, 1,440/1,455 mm and a wheelbase of 3,000 mm, as a previous filing showed.
That size is larger than both Tesla‘s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3 sedan and Nio‘s (NYSE: NIO) ET5.
The updated Model 3 currently sold in China measures 4,720 mm in length, 1,848 mm in width and 1,442 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,875 mm. The regular ET5 measures 4,790 mm in length, 1,960 mm in width and 1,499 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,888 mm.
The Xiaomi SU7’s battery packs are available in 73.6 kWh and 101 kWh capacities, which are supplied by Chinese power battery giants BYD and CATL respectively.
The 73.6-kWh pack offers two CLTC ranges of 628 kilometers and 668 kilometers respectively, while the 101-kWh pack offers 750 kilometers, and 800 kilometers range options.
Xiaomi has high hopes for its first model, and Lei said in an interview with CCTV earlier this month that he came into the car-making venture with an aim to win.
Xiaomi CEO has high hopes for 1st EV model with heavy R&D investment
