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Lead:Today, it seems that it is not unusual for any enterprise to build a car across borders.
After all, Evergrande, which is engaged in real estate, has built cars, Gree, which is engaged in air conditioning, and even Skyworth, which is engaged in TV, is also building cars. As one of the leading digital industries in China, it is not unusual for Xiaomi to enter the automobile manufacturing industry.
Even after watching the Xiaomi automobile technology conference at the end of 2023, the author is very calm as an "old rice noodle". Using the word "so much" can almost directly summarize the mood after watching the press conference.
However, just before the Chinese New Year, a photo of Zhang Leijun sitting in Xiaomi SU7 was leaked. At the same time, this photo also indicates the interior design of Xiaomi’s new car to some extent.
From this photo, combined with all kinds of information I have at present, I still think Xiaomi car is very interesting. From products to industries, Xiaomi Automobile not only shows us the similarities with traditional new forces, but also shows some differences.
First of all, let’s talk about Xiaomi’s "technical roots"
At the Xiaomi Automobile Technology Conference at the end of last year, Lei Jun spoke passionately for three hours, trying to let everyone know the technical advantages of Xiaomi Automobile.
Normally, Xiaomi mainly released its own high-speed motor technology, integrated die casting technology, 800V high-voltage platform technology, intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving assistance technology. Among them, especially the Titan alloy developed by Xiaomi has attracted many people’s attention and made them call it "powerful".
In fact, what I want to tell you is that no matter how powerful and excellent these technologies are on PPT, as long as these technologies have not been empowered in real cars, don’t be too credulous.
In the automobile manufacturing industry, there is an eternal truth: technology is not bought, and it does not take root and sprout overnight, but it takes time as a drug introduction and experience as a premise to accumulate slowly.
The last car company, known as "technology can be bought", was Hengchi Automobile from Evergrande. And what is the final outcome of Hengchi Automobile? I believe everyone here is very clear.
Therefore, the author firmly believes that Xiaomi, as a "newcomer" who has just entered the automobile manufacturing and R&D industries for a few years, is difficult to grow into a "technological success" overnight. Therefore, the arguments that "the performance of Xiaomi automobile has surpassed one million" and "Xiaomi technology is very strong" can be stopped.
After all, an automobile manufacturer established less than five years ago can’t compete with those first-line manufacturers with decades or even over a hundred years of history.
Although Xiaomi can’t become a big player in the field of automobile technology in a short time. However, Xiaomi has the opportunity to become a "user-oriented car company". To put it simply, in the early stage of development, Xiaomi can create products that meet user habits and attract users through the interpretation of user needs.
From the product point of view, Xiaomi does have the foundation of "user-oriented car enterprise"
At a press conference, Lei Jun said with an embarrassed expression: "There are many bugs in the MIUI system this year, and fans have scolded us miserably …"
The head of an enterprise can admit his mistakes in this way with the image of being close to the people. In my opinion, this is an essential element for a household enterprise. Dare to face criticism, admit defects and make up for mistakes. When an enterprise can do this, no matter whether its technology is "far ahead", at least it is successful in shaping its affinity image.
However, building a car is very different from making a mobile phone.
To put it bluntly, the mobile phone is just a fast-moving consumer product. Even if there is a problem, it will only affect the mood of consumers, and the loss will be only a few thousand dollars. Enterprises can and have the conditions to make up for users well.
However, in the process of building a car, once a BUG appears, it will often be a personal safety problem, which is difficult to make up once it is encountered.
So we also see that Xiaomi hopes to avoid problems as much as possible before making a car.
The author gives a few small examples, such as the design dimension of Xiaomi SU7, which is actually very cautious.
The door handle of the vehicle adopts the "embedded and hidden" design similar to that of BMW 2 Series, and will not be stuck by thin ice like the hidden door handle in winter.
Moreover, in the interior design, Xiaomi SU7 still retains a certain scale of physical keys, which can provide convenience for consumers to operate blindly, which is also a small detail that makes people feel good.
Of course, we can’t deny that Xiaomi Automobile may have some problems in the subsequent real car due to lack of experience. In fact, objectively speaking, these problems are hard to avoid in all car-making enterprises. The key lies in whether the problems finally exposed are "big problems" or "small problems".
The author is inclined that Xiaomi can build a good car in a down-to-earth manner, at least in terms of core mechanical quality and safety. As for the potential problems such as screen delay and abnormal sound of decorative parts, it doesn’t really matter much. According to Xiaomi’s attitude towards consumers, the author can even foresee a scene after one or two years:
Lei Jun continued to say "embarrassed" to the big guy at the annual new car launch conference: "There are a lot of small problems in the first SU7, and the fans scolded us miserably … but we will improve these problems …"
Xiaomi builds a car, what is the probability geometry of success?
In fact, we have to understand a feature of the current market, that is, consumers in 2024 will not directly trust a start-up car brand as they did seven or eight years ago. In the era of economic tightening, buying a car is becoming more and more rational. I won’t say, "I am a fan of Xiaomi’s mobile phone, so I must support Xiaomi’s car."
Therefore, in front of Lei Jun and Xiaomi, there are actually more difficulties.
It is difficult to build a car, and it is even more difficult to sell a car.
In front of Xiaomi, there may be only one way to go, and that is the cost-effective route.
However, from the actual action, Xiaomi seems to be more willing to take the high-end route. After last year’s press conference, Lei Jun once bluntly said, "It is impossible for a new millet car to cost 149,000 yuan".
And not long before the Chinese New Year, Lei Jun also released a Weibo poll on "The most beautiful car in your heart is within 500,000", and most of the options are about 300,000 models. The author believes that this actually indirectly shows that Xiaomi’s first new car SU7 is heading for the price of 300,000 yuan.
It is conceivable that if Xiaomi SU7 really sells in the price range of 300,000 yuan, it will face very sinister competition.
In addition, it is not difficult to predict the product strength of SU7: the performance version of this car may have a 3-second acceleration, and it has a high-level chassis adjustment; The long battery life version may have a cruising range of about 800 kilometers, and the charging speed is very fast; At the same time, the intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving assistance system of high-equipped models will also reach the first-line level in the industry …
Based on this product strength, it can really sell for 300 thousand. But in the price range of 300,000, consumers will have more choices. In the future, you can choose extreme krypton 007, extreme krypton 001 or even "big factory new energy" like Zhijie S7; Yes, there are BBA medium-sized cars to choose from. Therefore, if Xiaomi’s first new car really enters the price range of 300,000, it is easy to be defeated by the market.
Of course, the author hopes that a series of information released by Lei Jun and Xiaomi are all "smoke bombs".
At the beginning, it was expensive, but in the end, it was necessary to take a high cost-effective route. Even if the new car is priced at 180,000-250,000 yuan, Xiaomi SU7 will have a "head start".
Moreover, once Xiaomi enters the cost-effective competition path, it will not only make its own road wider and wider, but also play the role of "catalyst" in the whole market. As the cost-effective road of Xiaomi gradually takes shape, more and more car companies will fight for price and quality, which is expected to achieve the real "same price of oil and electricity".
Achuan pingche
Of course, the above price information is only a forecast based on the author’s analysis of existing data. It can only be said that there are two possibilities after Xiaomi’s new car goes on the market.
As for which road Xiaomi will choose in the end, the author prefers that Xiaomi will take a higher cost-effective route. After all, this is also the traditional advantage of Xiaomi.
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