After the launch of Xiaomi SU7, Xiaomi Automobile Factory also began to enter a busy production rhythm.
A few days ago, a reporter from "Daily Economic News" walked into the Xiaomi Automobile Production Park in Beijing Economic Development Zone, and what was visible was rows of Xiaomi SU7 neatly parked in the square.
"This is just a part of the new cars to be delivered, and there are many parked in the factory." On April 2, a Xiaomi Automobile factory staff said in an interview with a reporter from the "Daily Economic News" that there are cars carrying handlebars every day. The new SU7 cars are shipped to all parts of the country in preparation for official delivery on April 3.
On the morning of April 3, the first batch delivery ceremony of Xiaomi SU7 was held in the final assembly workshop of Xiaomi Automobile Factory, and the first batch of deliveries was simultaneously launched in 28 city delivery centers across the country. "Starting today, Xiaomi has officially become a car manufacturer. Should everyone call me Factory Director Lei?" Lei Jun, chairman of Xiaomi Group, posted on his personal Weibo that day.
According to the video Lei Jun posted on his Weibo, he personally opened the car door for the owner. Subsequently, topics such as#LeiJun opens the car door for Xiaomi car owners# became hot searches.
Official data shows that within five days of Xiaomi SU7 being on sale, 100,000 users have placed orders (5,000 yuan), and the number of locked orders has exceeded 40,000. "If you place an order now, the delivery cycle for the standard and Pro versions of Xiaomi SU7 will be around 20 weeks, but the delivery cycle for the Max high-end version is expected to be two weeks longer than the other two versions." A salesperson at the Xiaomi Automobile Gigafactory store told reporters say.
A supplier who visited Xiaomi Automobile's factory that day told reporters that his company recently received an email from Xiaomi Automobile requesting to increase parts production capacity. "Xiaomi Motors has increased its original planned monthly production target of about 7,000 units to about 12,000 units per month." However, the above-mentioned Xiaomi Automobile suppliers admitted frankly that although the suppliers can supply the accessories required by Xiaomi Automobile, Xiaomi Automobile's own production capacity is short. It is difficult to achieve (this goal) within the time limit.
New car delivery takes up to 8 months. Annual production capacity demand has increased to 120,000 units?
"I am particularly worried that if it is not popular at first, no one will buy it. What is even more worrying is that if everyone comes to buy it, it will take a year or two and they will definitely be scolded." Before the launch of Xiaomi SU7, Lei Jun accepted CCTV News During the interview, he expressed concerns about the pace of new car delivery.
When the reporter visited a Xiaomi Auto offline store in Beijing, he found that the store was crowded with people looking at cars offline, and the sales in the store were overwhelmed. Correspondingly, the number of orders for Xiaomi Auto continued to rise. According to information released by Xiaomi, the number of orders for Xiaomi SU7 exceeded 10,000 in 4 minutes after its launch, exceeded 20,000 in 7 minutes, exceeded 50,000 in 27 minutes after its launch, and 88,898 orders were placed in 24 hours.
On April 3, the reporter checked the Xiaomi Auto APP and found that the delivery period of the Xiaomi SU7 standard version after locking the order is estimated to be 21 to 24 weeks (5 to 6 months); the delivery period of the Pro version after locking the order is estimated to be 20 to 23 weeks; the delivery period of the Max high-end version after locking the order is 29 to 32 weeks (7.5 to 8 months).
According to the plan, the Xiaomi SU7 standard version and Max version are expected to start delivery from the end of April, and the Pro version is expected to start delivery from the end of May. "(We) are making every effort to increase production capacity and speed up delivery." Xiaomi Motors said.
During the visit, the reporter found that the Xiaomi automobile factory is still operating on a single-shift production system and does not work overtime. "After communicating with the person in charge of the Xiaomi Automobile Factory, I learned that the current daily production capacity of the Xiaomi Automobile Factory is less than 300 vehicles." The above-mentioned Xiaomi Automobile supplier revealed to reporters.
A worker at the Xiaomi Auto Factory told reporters that the Xiaomi Auto Factory is currently expected to produce about 240 cars a day. "The factory is still scheduling production as normal. If there are no special requirements, we generally don't work overtime." The worker said.
The above-mentioned Xiaomi Automobile supplier also said that Xiaomi Automobile recently issued a request to suppliers to increase production capacity. He went to the Xiaomi Automobile factory this time to conduct a production capacity assessment. "After learning about it, we found that even if our suppliers can provide accessories, it will be difficult for Xiaomi Automobile's factory to achieve rapid increase in production capacity in a short period of time." said the above-mentioned Xiaomi Automobile supplier.
According to several Xiaomi Auto suppliers, Xiaomi Auto has increased its annual production capacity demand to 120,000 vehicles in 2024. In this regard, the reporter verified with Xiaomi Group, but no response was received as of press time.
Borrow qualifications + build your own factory?
According to the plan, Xiaomi Auto has planned to build a complete vehicle manufacturing plant in two phases in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone. The first phase covers an area of approximately 720,000 square meters, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, and is expected to be completed in June 2023; the second phase is scheduled to start construction in 2024 and be completed in 2025.
"The factory has built six core workshops - stamping workshop, body workshop, painting workshop, final assembly workshop, die-casting workshop, and battery workshop. Under full production, a Xiaomi SU7 comes off the assembly line every 76 seconds at the Xiaomi Automobile Factory." Lei Jun say.
During the visit, the reporter found that the second phase of construction of Fangxindian Village and Xiaozhangwan Village in Beijing Yizhuang New Town has not yet officially started. At present, some sections have been demolished, but the evacuation work of Fangxindian Village has not yet officially started.
"The houses in the village can still be rented out, but we don't know how long we can live there. It could be one month, or it could be two months. There is no specific time for vacating the houses yet." Several residents who enter and leave the village told reporters.
It is worth noting that there are reports that Xiaomi Auto’s production qualifications and factories do not belong to Xiaomi Auto. In response to this, the reporter verified with Xiaomi Group, and the other party only replied: “It is not convenient to disclose these issues at present, and the official disclosure information will prevail in the future.”
Public information shows that if a car company wants to build a car, it must obtain both the qualification for a new pure electric passenger car production project approved by the National Development and Reform Commission and the qualification for a new vehicle production enterprise approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, that is, "dual qualifications."
Last November, Reuters reported that Xiaomi Motors had obtained approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to produce electric vehicles in August 2023. However, the news has not been officially confirmed by Xiaomi Group.
On November 15 last year, the Xiaomi brand pure electric sedan appeared in the 377th batch of the "Announcement on Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. According to information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the company applying for Xiaomi Motors this time is Beijing Automotive Group Off-Road Vehicle Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Beijing Off-Road Vehicle), and the product's rear label also has the words "Beijing Xiaomi". However, the application materials show that the production address is "No. 21, Huanjing Road, Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Beijing," which is the current address of Xiaomi Automobile's production base.
