Lei Jun: Xiaomi Won’t Launch Sub-¥100,000 Vehicles in Coming Years

On the morning of April 17, during a live stream of the Xiaomi SU7’s Beijing–Shanghai range challenge, Lei Jun responded to audience questions by stating that Xiaomi will not launch any vehicle priced under RMB 100,000 in the next few years. He explained that achieving a high level of intelligence in electric vehicles entails significant costs, making it difficult to keep the price below RMB 100,000. Lei also discussed the psychological pressure he felt during the live broadcast, noting that his main concern was “not saying anything wrong,” as he worried his remarks might be misinterpreted or maliciously exploited. He mentioned that over the past year, Xiaomi has consistently faced negative public sentiment, but avoiding communication out of fear of criticism could further deepen public misunderstanding. Therefore, since the beginning of this year, he decided to personally step forward and provide detailed product explanations to enhance public understanding of Xiaomi. Additionally, Lei previously revealed that the new-generation SU7 features over 100 upgrades compared to the original model, with material costs alone increasing by nearly RMB 20,000. However, the final price increase across all trims was only RMB 4,000. This modest adjustment primarily took into account the phasing out of purchase tax incentives, aiming to prevent potential buyers from being deterred by unexpected price hikes.