Xiaomi SU7 EV sales beat forecast fivefold as custom deliveries begin with more color options teased

Xiaomi seems to be applying some of the manufacturing prowess that catapulted it to the world's third-largest phone maker ranking to electric cars as well.

Its first electric vehicle, the Xiaomi SU7 performance sedan, has been raking in sales orders that are three to five times larger than the forecast for the respective trim, bragged Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun.

Instead of dithering with production and deliveries, however, like so many EV startups or even established brands like Tesla, he announced the start of deliveries for the custom SU7 orders that were supposed to ship at the end of April.

Just like with the stock versions of the car, Xiaomi will start delivering the customized Standard and Pro trims first, while the powerful SU7 Max with 2.8 seconds acceleration will follow in May.

The SU7 starts from the equivalent of $29,820 for the base trim, and there is also a Founders Edition that will only be produced and distributed in 5,000 units.

During a live stream announcing the start of deliveries for the custom SU7 orders, Xiaomi's CEO said that the company is now firing on all production cylinders to meet the 3x-5x higher demand, and will be opening more distribution centers.

For those worried about quality control at such a breakneck pace of production, Xiaomi rushes to assure that each gigacast SU7 part "undergoes a 100% automated inspection using LiDAR, achieving an accuracy of up to 0.05mm."

In the second half of the year, after early adopters and custom orders have worked through the system, Xiaomi is reportedly readying new SU7 colors to maintain the initial excitement and demand spree.

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