All posts by Francis Mitterrand

News

Xiaomi SUV is coming soon

Leave a comment

After revealing its first car (SU7) a few months ago, the Chinese giant Xiaomi announces the arrival of a new electric car (SUV) that should hit the market in the next year or two. With this car, Xiaomi intends to throw down the gauntlet to the world’s largest electric car manufacturer and its Tesla Model Y.

Back in 2021, Xiaomi started its story about electric cars, and a year later the company announced that it would invest 10 billion dollars in the automotive industry in the next 10 years. The first part of that long-term plan was fulfilled with the SU7 model, which achieved surprising sales results in a very short period of time. Now Xiaomi is looking to enter the SUV market as well, which coincides with the completion of the second phase of construction of Xiaomi’s new production facility in Beijing.

For now, there is no official information from the company about this car, and its position on the market will be determined by the price. As a reminder, the SU7 costs $29,900, while rumors say the SUV could be even cheaper with a price tag of around $20,000. It could definitely attract more customers but also be a big challenge for the competition.

The Xiaomi SUV is supposed to be produced at a plant in Beijing that has a capacity of 300,000 cars per year.

Source: Reuters; Photo: Sugardesign_1 via Instagram

News

Xiaomi SU7 stopped after 39 km

Leave a comment

Two months ago, Xiaomi introduced its first car, the all-electric SU7. The car achieved excellent sales results on the domestic Chinese market, and in April Xiaomi announced that every 76 seconds one SU7 leaves the production lines at the Super Factory in Beijing, which has a production capacity of 47 cars per hour. However, customers are already having problems, and one of them reported that the car stopped after only 39 kilometers.

In early May, Mr. Wen picked up his SU7 at Xiaomi’s center in Fujian province, and a day later, while driving on the highway, the vehicle suddenly shut down. On the instrument panel, he saw a warning that the car would stop and that he should contact online support. Then another message appeared stating that the drive system had failed and that the car could not shift from drive mode to reverse. Wen left the car on the side of the road and called a towing service.

The dealer was unable to determine what the problem was, so the car will be sent to the factory for detailed analysis and diagnostics. The owner does not want the same car, but a completely new one, which is impossible because the examples that are currently in production already have their owners. Xiaomi has found a solution, so it will refund the full amount to the customer with certain cost compensations.

SU7 comes in three versions: SU7, SU7 Pro and SU7 Max. The standard version is powered by an electric motor with 299 hp (220 kW) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque, and will have RWD. It accelerate from 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.28 seconds with a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph). It is equipped with a BYD Blade 73.6 kWh battery that provides a range of 700 kilometers. It cost $29,900.

The more powerful version of the SU7 Pro is equipped with an 800V architecture, a 94.3 kWh battery that provides a range of 830 km, and will cost $34,000. However, the most powerful version, Xiaomi SU7 Max, is really impressive. It is powered by two electric motors with a total output of 673 hp (495 kW) and 618 lb-ft (838 Nm) of torque, and has AWD. It reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.78 seconds with a top speed of 265 km/h (165 mph). It is equipped with the Xiami Pilot Max ADAS system, 800V architecture, and a CATI Qilin 101 kWh battery that enables a range of 800 km, or 510 km after a 15-minute charge. It costs $41,500.

Xiaomi plans to produce 900,000 units in the next three years.

Source: Reuters

News

Seat is coming back with an EV that will cost less than 20k euros

Leave a comment

Although VW at the Munich Motor Show (4th Sept 2023) confirmed that the SEAT brand is to be fully replaced with CUPRA, the Spanish brand is coming back to the market with a new electric car that will cost under 20,000 euros.

Seat will soon reveal several novelties, and some of them are redesigned editions of the Ibiza and Arona models, and the Ateca SUV. All models will be powered by internal combustion engines. However, this will not be enough because due to the growth in demand for electric cars, Seat will have to return to EVs.

Before the Spanish brand fell into crisis, it achieved good results in the market with its electric model Mii Electric, which gives it hope that the same will happen with the new electric model. It will be a smaller and more affordable car, and the price is the key and decisive factor for Seat’s electric future. This means that the price must not exceed 20,000 euros, which is cheaper than the Cupra Raval.

Chinese car manufacturers are putting a lot of pressure on European manufacturers and are aggressively attacking the market of the old continent. Volkswagen is one of the companies that is trying to find a solution for this, and Seat could be the ace up its sleeve, because the survival of electrification in Europe lies in small car formats in lower price segments.

Source: Autocar