Lei Jun: New‑generation Xiaomi (小米) SU7 to be officially released this month

Company announcement and timing

Xiaomi (小米) founder, chairman and CEO Lei Jun announced that the new‑generation SU7 will be officially released this month, following more than two years of development. Lei said the project has progressed smoothly and the car brings "huge improvements" in safety, driving control, intelligent experience and luxury feel. It has been reported that the model opened small pre‑orders in early January with a guide price of ¥229,900–¥309,900 (roughly $32k–$43k).

Technical upgrades and positioning

According to reports, the new SU7 comes as a marked upgrade over the current model: full‑line standard lidar, 700 TOPS of AD compute power, 4D millimetre‑wave radar and an end‑to‑end Xiaomi HAD assisted‑driving stack. Those features push Xiaomi deeper into the sensor‑heavy approach to advanced driver assistance that many Chinese OEMs are betting on. Will consumers pay a premium for lidar across the range? Xiaomi is clearly placing a bet that integrated hardware and software will differentiate the SU7.

Market and geopolitical context

Xiaomi’s car effort sits at the intersection of China’s booming EV market and a broader push for tech self‑reliance. The SU7 will compete in a crowded field that includes BYD, NIO, Xpeng and Li Auto, and it comes as Chinese automakers accelerate development of in‑house chips, sensors and software amid U.S. export controls and heightened trade tensions. It has been reported that automakers see domestic supply chains and high‑performance compute as strategic priorities — and Xiaomi’s move underlines that trend.

What to watch

The immediate questions are execution and customer take‑up. Pre‑order interest will signal whether Xiaomi can convert its smartphone and IoT cachet into EV market share. Official specs and pricing at the launch will determine whether the SU7 is a technical tour de force or merely a high‑end trim bump in an already competitive segment.