Lei Jun Completes His Disillusionment Journey in Two Years

From founder-led myth to market reality

Xiaomi (小米) founder Lei Jun (雷军) built a corporate fable: a charismatic entrepreneur could single-handedly crash the gated moats of the auto industry. That story exploded into spectacle on March 28, 2024, when the first SU7 launch featured live “war‑room” tallies — 27 minutes, 50,000 pre‑orders; 24 hours, 88,898 — and a nationwide frenzy that seemed to validate the proposition “an ordinary person can make a great car.” But it has been reported that the exuberance contained the seeds of its own undoing: expectation, once turbo‑charged by personality, proved fragile when confronted by product realities and regulatory scrutiny.

The unravelling

The rupture began with a deadly highway crash involving an SU7, which it has been reported that resulted in three fatalities. The gap left by days of corporate silence fed doubts about safety; social media interpreted the quiet as callousness. Reportedly, subsequent controversies — an OTA‑limited 1,548‑hp claim, disputed carbon‑fibre hood specifications and waves of owner complaints — pushed hundreds of vehicle owners into public disputes with the company. Legal manoeuvres, including a defence that Lei Jun’s public remarks were not technical promises, struck at the heart of the brand’s most valuable asset: the founder’s personal credibility.

Recalibration on stage — can narrative be repaired?

Two years on, the new SU7 launch on March 19 felt different. Xiaomi still drew star power — actress Shu Qi (舒淇) and sprinter Su Bingtian (苏炳添) — and it has been reported that 15,000 “locked” orders were recorded within 34 minutes. But the language shifted: “large pre‑orders” gave way to “lock‑orders” and Xiaomi framed the latter as more “objective.” The company plastered symbols of redemption and reliability across the program: Shu Qi as a comeback metaphor, Su Bingtian as the everyman speedster and an actual SU7 owner. Yet the market reaction was blunt: Xiaomi’s shares fell 8.59% the next day, and the stock remains far below its 2025 peak. Why? Because trust, once overleveraged by hype, is costly to rebuild.

Heavy industry realities and geopolitical context

Xiaomi’s pivot is also grounded in the hard economics of carmaking: heavy capital, long cycles, tight regulation and volatile input costs. Lei Jun admitted pricing pressure; the new SU7 lineup carries a c.4,000 yuan across‑the‑board increase while independent estimates suggest per‑car cost inflation in some trims of 15,000–20,000 yuan. It has been reported that rising component and materials prices — amplified by global supply tensions and export controls affecting China’s tech supply chain — have squeezed margins. The question now is not whether Lei Jun can sell another headline, but whether Xiaomi can transition from founder‑driven marketing theater to product reliability and institutional governance that an industry of this scale demands. Can a personality‑centered myth be recalibrated into a durable automotive brand? Time — and regulated on‑road performance — will tell.