- Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun is discussing with colleagues responsible for vehicle manufacturing how to further increase production capacity.
- Customers who order the SU7 now will still have to wait about six months for delivery.
Xiaomi (HKG: 1810, OTCMKTS: XIACY) is working on boosting vehicle production capacity, with delivery wait times remaining high.
Lei Jun, the smartphone maker's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a Weibo post today that he went to the Xiaomi EV factory today to discuss with colleagues in charge of manufacturing how to further boost capacity while ensuring quality and production safety.
“I am in the R&D center of our car factory, with the paint shop outside my window,” Lei wrote on Weibo.
Xiaomi's car factory is located in Beijing, where the company is headquartered, and the first phase currently in operation has an annual capacity of 150,000 units.
In July last year, Xiaomi began construction of the second phase of its Beijing EV plant, which is located near the first phase.
In a report on October 23 last year, local media outlet National Business Daily said construction workers at the phase two plant were working double shifts, with people working both during the day and at night.
Construction of the phase two plant was expected to be completed by the end of 2024, with the main structure scheduled to be finished by June 15, 2025, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The phase two plant is just a road away from the phase one plant, and the road was also being expanded, according to the report.
Xiaomi's first EV model, the SU7, was officially launched on March 28, 2024, and is offered in three variants -- Standard, Pro, and Max -- with starting prices of RMB 215,900 ($29,630), RMB 245,900, and RMB 299,900, respectively.
The SU7 is a competitor to Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3 sedan, which delivered more than 135,000 vehicles throughout 2024.
Xiaomi's goal is to deliver 300,000 vehicles by 2025, Lei said in a December 31 live video.
Despite being on the market for almost a year, demand for the SU7 appears to remain strong, with customers who order the model now still having to wait about six months for deliveries, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
Xiaomi announced in early December that it named its second EV model the YU7, with the SUV's launch expected to be in June or July 2025.
Prior to the YU7's launch, Xiaomi will launch the SU7 Ultra, an ultra-performance variant of the SU7. The new variant went on pre-sales for RMB 814,900 in October last year.
Earlier this week, Lei said Xiaomi's SU7 Ultra would be released at the end of February, ahead of the previously announced March. He said at the time that the SU7 Ultra's sales target for this year was 10,000 units.
On February 5, local automotive media outlet Yiche reported that the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra would be launched on February 27.
($1 = RMB 7.2868)
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