No rush to buy into EV milestone

Smartphone maker Xiaomi has dropped a bombshell in the mainland’s highly competitive electric vehicles market.

With the backing of the company’s popular brand in China, Xiaomi’s pricing policy to start from a low of just below 216,000 yuan for the SU7 base trim has helped generate a sense of surprise among its anticipating customers.

No one can deny the launch of the company’s first EVs has been a success.

The dramatic effect may be likened to the “deep water bomb” that CK Asset threw in March last year when launching Phase 2 of the developer’s residential project Grand Jete in Tuen Mun.

In hindsight, CK Asset’s pricing strategy did help set the tone for the property sector afterwards.

Will Xiaomi’s SU7, which is reportedly being sold for a price below cost, set off a new round of price wars in China’s overcrowded EVs market?

The answer is a near certainty as other brands are expected to act aggressively to protect their market share.

Perhaps it is in consumers’ interest to wait to secure the best deal rather than joining the rush to place orders immediately for the SU7 models that are yet to be tested fully by users in real-world conditions.

This is despite the fashion of new models always capturing eyeballs.

Xiaomi’s founder and chief executive Lei Jun claims the base model of SU7 has a range of 700 kilometers, with its most pricey model SU7 MAX having a super range of 810km.

If true, these would be truly tremendous ranges as the lowest trim would still have a range longer than the Long Range edition of Tesla’s Model 3 that already boasts more than 600km following a full charge.

All the figures, regardless of the brands, are bound to vary according to actual road conditions.

If Xiaomi’s EVs can actually travel that far in real world conditions rather than under laboratory statistics, it would set a milestone in range for an electric vehicle.

Another important aspect to consider when purchasing an EV is the charging time, which has been a major hurdle for battery makers to overcome.

If being the first to buy a new product gives one a sense of pride in the moment, placing an order after sufficient data is accumulated from actual usage would give a customer a greater sense of security when using a product yet to be fully tested through usage.

Nonetheless, whether or not the SU7 or SU7MAX can live up to the claims, Xiaomi has presented investors with a story plot to act upon.

Although the launch of the EVs was also mixed with short social media posts showing problematic test rides including crashing while cornering and deflated tires during test runs, these were not uncommon in China where competitors commonly smear each other with the help of online mercenaries for hire.

In recent months, China’s social media has also been full of video footage of EVs of this or that brand going up in flames on the road.

However, it has been difficult to tell how grave the situation is in light of the huge number of EVs in China.

A more secure way is to avoid acting in a hurry if you have no urgent need to own a new EV.