Emir Bardakçı
Xiaomi has just entered the electric vehicle market with the innovative Xiaomi SU7, which set new expectations and earned it a ranking on TIME Magazine’s “TIME100 Most Influential Companies” of 2024. This would mark the first time Xiaomi is being recognized on a list of influential companies, indicating innovation and contributions that made a difference to global tech, among other contributions.
Xiaomi’s Visionary Leap into Electric Vehicles
Launched in January 2024, the Xiaomi SU7 Series is the first electric vehicle launched by Xiaomi, resulting in a whole new excitement and benchmark for electric cars. As of March 2024, the SU7 series had been on sale in Mainland China and was quickly known as the symbol of innovation integrating innovative technology.
TIME Magazine covered this newfangled design, courtesy of Xiaomi SU7, which leads to the now so-called a “Human x Car x Home” seamless ecosystem. This approach integrated the vehicle with smart home devices, allowing drivers to control things like lighting and home appliances straight from their cars. This level of integration is a giant step for a user-centric, interconnected lifestyle.
Record Launch and Industry Impact
The Xiaomi SU7 Series, however, hit the market at the time of this pressure and set a new record for the volume of locked-in orders and deliveries in a month, indicating a solid market demand and high confidence in Xiaomi’s EV capabilities.
The company is, of course, breathing a little easier, having reported more than 70,000 orders for the SU7 in the first month of its sales a clear indicator of its future growth potential and popularity. Xiaomi’s approach is to invest heavily in research and development. For example, the company plans to inject over RMB 100 billion from 2022 to 2026 into the development. In that manner, it should be a leader in global technology and one of the five largest global automakers within the next 15 to 20 years.
TIME Recognition: A Milestone for Xiaomi
“Inclusion in the ‘TIME100 Most Influential Companies’ is an honor for Xiaomi and a strong proof point that the strategy we laid out in 2018 around our smart mobility expansion is now coming to life.”.
As TIME says, there are several reasons why Xiaomi was included in the list:
- Innovative Impact: The SU7 would easily integrate with the user’s electronic ecosystem, transforming the car into an extension of the household and personal devices of the users.
- Strategic Vision: CEO Lei Jun’s foresight to merge consumer electronics with smart cars, positioning the SU7 as a technologically superior alternative to competitors, such as Tesla’s Model 3 and the Porsche Taycan.
- Competitive Pricing: Priced from $30,000, the SU7 is more affordable than the Tesla Model 3, lending a reach to many more potential buyers.
Global Aspirations and Future Directions
While their focus could be on China right now, Xiaomi envisages a world bigger than that. The SU7 is only the beginning of Xiaomi’s intelligent mobility story. Packed with advanced features, priced competitively, and with capabilities of integration, the SU7 is going to break all norms and move the world to a highly integrated, intelligent state. A Xiaomi spokesperson remarked, “Xiaomi is honored to be selected for the TIME100 Most Influential Companies list for 2024. We look forward to living up to this award by continuing to produce products that let everyone enjoy a better life through innovative technology.”
This further inclusion of Xiaomi in the TIME list underlines not only the significance of the SU7 but also Xiaomi’s overall importance to technology and innovation at large. As Xiaomi keeps pushing the limits of the possible in the EV and bright technology spaces, its journey will be one to watch for innovations that continue to enable and inspire a better, more connected life for people worldwide. Stay tuned as Xiaomi will usher in the next era of intelligent mobility because, after all, the future of a more integrated life and technology is set.
