Xiaomi Kicks Off Deliveries for Upgraded SU7 Electric Vehicle on March 23

Xiaomi's founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun announced that the company will begin deliveries of the new-generation SU7 electric sedan on Monday, March 23. A livestream of the first batch handover is set for 10:00 a.m. that day. In response to robust consumer demand, Xiaomi has prepared a stock of ready-to-deliver vehicles, enabling owners to take delivery in as little as one to five weeks after placing confirmed orders. The refreshed SU7 launched on March 19 and secured more than 15,000 firm orders in just the first 34 minutes. Priced from 219,900 yuan (about $31,930), the sedan strengthens Xiaomi's push to challenge Tesla in China's leading electric vehicle market. This starting price represents only a 4,000 yuan increase over the original SU7, while undercutting the base Tesla Model 3 by 15,600 yuan.

Enhancements and Pricing Strategy

The updated model includes more than 100 hardware and software upgrades, which have raised material costs by approximately 20,000 yuan per vehicle. Even so, Xiaomi chose a limited 4,000 yuan price increase across the range to keep it affordable, particularly as China's subsidies for new energy vehicle purchases are winding down. The strategy seeks to align with standard buyer budgets without driving prices excessively higher.

Market Reaction and Production Shift

The pricing choice has sparked investor concerns over slimmer profit margins for the SU7. Xiaomi's Hong Kong shares fell 8.59% the day after the launch. In the meantime, the company has introduced test drives for the new model—now equipped with the XLA cognitive large AI model—at 492 sites in 143 Chinese cities. To support the transition, Xiaomi halted production of the first-generation SU7 in February, leading to a steep decline in that month's electric vehicle deliveries. The company is now prioritizing scaled-up production of the refreshed version, relying on it and upcoming models to achieve its 2026 target of 550,000 vehicle sales.