This week the Xiaomi SU7 officially debuted. The technology giant's first electric car has had something to talk about these days. And the company must not only face fierce demand, but also problems with the refund of reservations and numerous traffic accidents.
Presented in the last days of 2023, the Xiaomi SU7, the first electric car from the Chinese technology giant, has caused a real sensation. Deliveries, however, began just a week ago and, despite the success that the vehicle is having in its native country (China has been the first to receive it), the debut is being bumpy to say the least.
And Xiaomi seems to have done its homework and created an electric car with arguments to rival the best of Tesla and Porsche, all at a fraction of its price. This is truly promising, especially considering that the Chinese company has no prior experience in vehicle development and manufacturing.
Numerous difficulties for the Chinese company in the week of the debut of the Xiaomi SU7
With a starting price of 215,900 yuan (27,725 euros), the entry-level SU7 offers more than 700 kilometers of approved autonomy according to the CLTC cycle, which we all know is more optimistic than the European WLTP. It also has 299 HP of power from its electric motor.
These technical characteristics and its knock-down price have led Xiaomi's first electric car to be a commercial success. In the first 27 minutes after its launch, the company recorded a total of 50,000 orders, reaching 88,898 orders just 24 hours after the reservation books were opened.
However, this high volume of orders is causing certain problems. According to Reuters, consumers will have to wait a long time to receive the car. Those who opted for the SU7 Pro, which advertises 830 kilometers of autonomy (CLTC), will have to wait 18 to 21 weeks (4-5 months) to obtain the vehicle.
Worse expectations are those of buyers of the SU7 Max that heads the range, with 800 kilometers of autonomy and 673 HP of power. Buyers will have to wait up to 30 weeks (7-8 months) for Xiaomi to deliver the car.
Reservations that are not being refunded and several traffic accidents
On the other hand, Singtao has reported that buyers who made the reservation, but decided to cancel the order (discouraged by the long waits), complain that they cannot recover the money given as a reservation.
Xiaomi promised that the reservation of 5,000 yuan (642 euros) made by potential buyers would be refunded seven days after the order was canceled. However, some of the 469 customers who requested refunds say the brand is not honoring the policy.
Xiaomi suggests this could be due to user error. The company clarified that customers can block their orders before the seven days are up, making the order non-refundable. The company has now made it more difficult to block an order on its website, in an attempt to prevent this from happening by mistake.
As if all this were not enough in the first week after the debut of the Xiaomi SU7, there are also the numerous traffic accidents that have been recorded and involving the first electric car of the Chinese technology giant. Images and videos of drivers losing control of the car and ending up crashing have been published on social networks.
Below you have some videos that have been captured of the accidents in question: