March 29, Xiaomi Auto’s official Weibo account released the first-day sales record of Xiaomi’s automobiles, and 88,898 orders were received within 24 hours of going on the market.
On the previous day’s press conference, Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi Auto, announced that SU7 has launched three models, with the standard version of SU7 selling for CNY 215,900 ($29,900), the SU7 Pro selling for CNY245,900 (rear-wheel drive), and the SU7 Max selling for CNY 299,900 (four-wheel drive).
In just one day, nearly 90,000 units of pre-orders, this data is truly unprecedented. However, such a growth rate may also be expected. After all, on March 28, after Xiaomi SU7 announced the price and started to accept large orders, the data of large orders broke through 10,000 in just a few minutes, and the data of large orders reached 50,000 in 27 minutes.
However, it is worth mentioning that the large orders of Xiaomi SU7 can be cancelled within 7 days. Therefore, the specific and true data of large orders will have to look at the data after 7 days of the large order, which is more objective.
The large number of large orders also brings about problems. Yesterday, many netizens posted on the internet saying that the 5,000 yuan deposit they paid could not be refunded, which was inconsistent with the no-reason refund of the deposit announced by Xiaomi Automobiles. In response to the questions of netizens, Xiaomi officials also responded yesterday. The official said that the deposit can be refunded without reason within 7 days, and after 7 days, the vehicle configuration will be automatically locked. The official also provides the option to lock the configuration actively, and consumers can also lock the configuration in advance. However, once the order is locked, the vehicle will enter the production stage, and the configuration cannot be modified, and the deposit will not be refunded.
In addition, the official also announced that as of 12:00 noon on March 29, the customer service system received a total of 469 cases of requests for refunds and configuration changes. Xiaomi Automobiles also explained the no-reason refund within 7 days of the deposit, saying: “According to industry practice, there is generally a hesitation period for large orders, ranging from 1 to 3 days. During this period, you can cancel the order or change the configuration. Once the configuration is confirmed and the order is locked, the vehicle will enter production. Considering the huge number of reservations for Xiaomi SU7 appreciation and test drives, at the same time, in order to further protect the rights and interests of users and give everyone more sufficient test drive experience and consideration time, the hesitation period before April 30 will be extended to 7 days.
For the matter of refunding large orders of Xiaomi automobiles, some industry insiders pointed out: Currently, the deposit in the automotive industry is divided into small orders and large orders. The meaning of a small order is that the intention money we understand can be refunded, and the large order is that the configuration is locked and cannot be refunded. But why this situation occurs is probably because Xiaomi SU7 said at the press conference that the large order can be refunded, which may cause many netizens to think that even if the configuration is locked, it can be refunded. After all, the common perception of many netizens is that only after the configuration is locked can it be called a large order, only to find that the deposit cannot be refunded after the lock. Judging from the number of requests for refunds and configuration changes announced by the official, it seems that there will not be much change in the data of the large order of Xiaomi SU7 in the future. Next, perhaps the issue that the official needs to consider is the capacity.
Xiaomi Auto’s factory will be built in two phases. The first-phase factory was completed in June 2023, with a production capacity of 150,000 units. The second-phase factory will start construction this year and be completed in 2025. Judging from the current data of large orders of Xiaomi SU7, more than half of the production capacity has been sold out. Consumers are naturally very concerned about whether the production capacity of Xiaomi SU7 can keep up in the future.
In response, Xiaomi officials also responded yesterday that the current confirmed orders are continuing to be popular, and the factory is making every effort to increase production capacity and fully mobilize supply chain partners to ensure supply. For different models, configurations, colors, etc., there will be different delivery cycles, which will be updated to the Xiaomi Auto APP and mini-program based on the adjusted production situation. If the vehicle cannot be delivered within the displayed delivery time due to our reasons, we will formulate corresponding policies and announce them in a timely manner.
According to the official plan, the founding edition of Xiaomi SU7 will start delivery on April 3. The delivery of non-foundation edition Xiaomi SU7 and Xiaomi SU7 Max will start from the end of April, and the delivery of Xiaomi SU7 Pro will start from the end of May. “Going public and becoming a hit” is a dream for many car companies, but it should be noted that a series of after-sales and capacity issues will follow behind the hit. Lei Jun’s journey of making cars has just begun.
