Open for a test drive with a bang

incident: The Chinese company Xiaomi has just started test drives for customers in the local market. Not everyone can handle the troops.

Fax: Karnewskina, Photo: Xiaomi

Beginning of the explosion:

Xiaomi has just launched its first car for customers, with mixed success. See the film below.

Chinese company Xiaomi has so far manufactured electronic gadgets for the home such as robot vacuum cleaners, mobile phones, cameras and air fryers, and the next step on the way for the company is a car.

Xiaomi SU7 is an electric car that, according to the company, should complement the person, car and smart home. In a message from the company, the goal is for the car to “redefine automotive technology.”

The response is nothing to say. according to Chinese car news The company received 90,000 orders within 24 hours after launching the car at the end of March. Deliveries will begin at the end of April.

Influencers

Xiaomi currently has 59 stores in 29 different cities in its home country where potential customers can try out the SU7. The car is about five meters long and has a battery they say has a capacity of 150 kilowatts which should give a theoretical range of 120 miles.

The SU7 can be delivered with up to 663 horsepower. The latter may seem like a problem.

After being opened for test drives after launch, there have been a number of documented cases of drivers losing control of the car.

CarNewsChina believes part of the reason may be that many of these drivers are “Lifestyle influencers”that is, young people who make a living showing stuff on social media, and who clearly can't handle a smart electric car.

The accidents do not appear to cause damage beyond the vehicles, but there is a somewhat unfortunate start with cars swinging onto curbs and other vehicles.

Tools

– It will be interesting to see how marketing guru Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, who has managed to get half of China excited about Xiaomi's first electric car, handles this situation, writes CarNewsChina.

They believe that the strategy of giving several Xiaomi influencers, who have previously “tested” electronic devices, the opportunity to test drive the car, may be a less smart solution.

Giving loyal influencers a 2.5-ton, 5-meter-long car with several hundred horsepower under the hood, and pretending it's just another tool to enjoy, can backfire hugely.

Questions are also being asked about whether driver assistance systems are good enough.