Su7 ultra faces tepid response, xiaomi adjusts automotive sales system

SU7 Ultra is Xiaomi Auto's performance label and brand totem. On February 27th of this year, SU7 Ultra was officially launched, achieving legendary status with an initial price of nearly 530,000 yuan and securing 10,000 orders in just 3 days.

As of the end of July this year, this car has sold more than 12,600 units at the terminal, ranking first in the domestic market sales chart for sedans priced over 500,000 yuan.

This domestic "new luxury car," which has almost created a sales miracle, is now entering a brand new operational phase.

According to information from Yiou Auto, at the beginning of August, Xiaomi Auto quietly adjusted the sales system for the SU7 Ultra.

The SU7 Ultra "exclusive selling rights," which were once only held by Ultra Master, are now open to all Xiaomi car sales (except for a very few key stores).

At the same time, the original Ultra Master has been "downgraded" to a senior sales position, and in addition to the SU7 Ultra, they also have to bear the sales targets for models like SU7 and YU7.

For example, in a certain city in East China, previously there were more than ten Ultra Masters in the city. After adjustments, only two remain in one key store. As long as it is an authorized SU7 Ultra store, Xiaomi car sales can also sell the SU7 Ultra.

Xiaomi once established a relatively independent sales system for the SU7 Ultra — an exclusive sales team called "Ultra Master" that only sold this model, and even the sales backend system for the SU7 Ultra was independent.

Establishing an independent sales team for high-end models is a common practice in the automotive industry. For example, Zeekr has set up a dedicated "Glory Division" specifically for selling the Zeekr 009 Glory model. NIO has also appointed exclusive sales consultants for its high-end executive flagship ET9.

Four months after the new car was launched, Xiaomi quickly adjusted the sales system of the SU7 Ultra, largely because:

This once best-selling "legendary car" has now entered a new phase of stable incremental sales.

Defamation in public opinion,The SU7 Ultra faces cold reception.

From the information released by the official sources, the SU7 Ultra has always been very "stable".

At the financial report meeting at the end of May, Xiaomi stated that the order lock number for the SU7 Ultra had exceeded 23,000 units, and by the end of July, 12,600 units had been delivered, surpassing the annual sales target ahead of schedule.

Based on the early performance of the SU7 Ultra, there is considerable confidence in the subsequent market trend of this vehicle.

A financial institution has given Xiaomi SU7 Ultra a very high sales forecast - approximately 30,000 units are expected to be delivered in 2025, and stable deliveries are expected to reach 40,000 units in 2026.

However, in reality, it is difficult for the SU7 Ultra to continue the previous order frenzy.

From high-speed car accidents to horsepower limits, from carbon fiber perforated hoods to urging payment of balances, the series of public opinion controversies surrounding Xiaomi Auto in recent months have gradually eroded the emotional value premium of the SU7 Ultra from performance to luxury, and have accelerated the market's return to rationality.

An Ultra Master informed Yiou Auto that the public opinion events directly related to the SU7 Ultra in mid-May (such as power restrictions and carbon fiber perforated hoods) had already been directly reflected in the front lines of sales.

At that time, whether it was the SU7 Ultra or SU7, terminal deliveries had already recovered from the low point, and the weekly delivery volume of Xiaomi cars had climbed back to a level of over 7,000 vehicles. However, the sales front line felt the chill in advance, with the most direct feeling being that "cars can't be sold," and quite a few customers with large orders "don't want to pick up their cars."

From the terminal delivery performance, the order pool for the SU7 Ultra remains substantial. Some prospective owners are hesitant to pick up their cars, which can be partly seen from the group of "air duct rights protection car owners."

According to media reports, from May to June this year, prospective owners of the SU7 Ultra have filed lawsuits against Xiaomi Auto, claiming that the "dual air duct" design of its carbon fiber hood does not match the advertised performance.

It is claimed that there are already over a hundred car owners defending their rights.

On May 7th, Xiaomi Auto apologized for the issue regarding the carbon fiber hood and proposed two solutions: First, for undelivered orders, the option to switch to an aluminum front hood is available; second, for users who have already taken delivery of their cars and those with locked orders, a gift of 20,000 points (worth approximately 2,000 yuan) will be provided.

However, such statements and handling methods have not been accepted by all prospective car owners. Subsequently, Xiaomi proposed a "60-day cooling-off period" in the delivery group to temporarily halt production and delivery for these prospective car owners.

Some users have quietly given up on the SU7 Ultra, in addition to those unafraid to take Xiaomi Auto to court. Even some Ultra Masters who had ordered this car have developed the idea of "not picking up the car."

The hesitations of these prospective car owners are due to the controversies surrounding Xiaomi's marketing, the inadequate follow-up, and the straightforward practical factors.

"Used car prices have collapsed, and the emotional value is no longer enough," summarized an Ultra Master.

When the SU7 Ultra was first launched, it led to a buying frenzy due to high demand and limited supply, with the car being sold at a premium in the second-hand market. However, as deliveries increased and a series of market upheavals occurred, the second-hand prices of the SU7 Ultra plummeted, akin to an avalanche.

According to the used car prices on "Dongchedi," there are currently 60 of these cars for sale on the platform. The standard model with a mileage of 2,000 kilometers is priced at 428,000 yuan. Some joke that with the current used car market conditions, SU7 Ultra owners "lose 20,000 yuan if they don't pick up the car, and lose 100,000 yuan if they do."

Xiaomi is anxious.SU7 Ultra Enters the "Post-Blockbuster" Era

Xiaomi Motors may be in a hurry.

At the end of July, many owners of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra received notifications to "pay the remaining balance of the car purchase," requiring them to complete the payment within seven days of receiving the notice. Otherwise, the order will be canceled, and the deposit will not be refunded.

The tough notice surprised consumers.

Paying the balance upon car delivery is a common practice in the automotive industry. However, no car company has been as proactive as Xiaomi in "collecting the balance." Some car owners are particularly concerned about having to pay the full balance "without having even seen the car."

One reasonable speculation for Xiaomi's decision is that, on one hand, many prospective owners of the SU7 Ultra have shown a reluctance to take delivery of their cars. On the other hand, there has been an emergence of available inventory for the SU7 Ultra, indicating that the scale of users postponing delivery may have reached a level that affects the normal delivery schedule.

According to media reports, a Xiaomi salesperson explained "collecting final payments" as follows: "Because many SU7 Ultra owners switched to YU7, the production of SU7 Ultra has accelerated; on the other hand, some SU7 Ultra owners gave up taking delivery, causing significant losses to Xiaomi. Xiaomi wants to confirm the current SU7 Ultra owners' intention to take delivery, hence the notification was sent."

From the terminal delivery data of recent weeks, it appears that Xiaomi has managed to stabilize the delivery performance of the SU7 Ultra through various efforts.

In the first week of August, approximately 600 SU7 Ultra vehicles were delivered, marking a recent peak. In the last two weeks of August, 487 and 510 vehicles were delivered, respectively. Although there was a slight decrease, the numbers remained at a relatively high level.

The SU7 Ultra continues to write the legend of the domestic "new luxury car" with its top-notch performance, having achieved the fastest production car record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, and the prototype has also once again set a new lap record.

Even though heavily influenced by public opinion, Xiaomi has never given up on vigorously promoting this flagship brand.

Recently, Xiaomi Motors launched a massive advertisement for the SU7 Ultra. At the Chengdu Auto Show not long ago, the SU7 Ultra Nürburgring Limited Edition also made its offline debut.

However, it cannot be denied that even a powerhouse like Xiaomi finds it hard to remain unaffected amidst the storm of public opinion, and it is not easy for the SU7 Ultra to continue its path as a popular product.

Performance is a strong attribute of the SU7 Ultra, but it attracts so many orders not solely because of its performance.

Lei Jun once bluntly stated in a live broadcast that Xiaomi aims not only for performance car enthusiasts but also for regular luxury car users in the same price range, especially the "56E" (BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, all of which are mid-to-large luxury sedans). This is precisely why the starting price of the SU7 Ultra is set at 529,900 yuan, a level usually beyond the reach of performance cars.

This is a rather clever strategy.

In the domestic market, the overall base of performance cars is only a few tens of thousands, while "56E" sold over 400,000 units last year—SU7 Ultra might find it difficult to win the favor of all performance car enthusiasts, but by converting just a small portion of luxury car owners, it can become a hit.

The casting path of performance cars is explicit, and Xiaomi has already proven its strength through lap times on tracks like the Nürburgring, placing it at the forefront among domestic car manufacturers.

The cultivation of a luxury brand is the result of long-term system capability development.

Whether it's traditional luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, or emerging luxury brands like NIO, they are all shaped by a comprehensive value system encompassing technology, products, and services.

Xiaomi has just entered the automotive arena, and the journey of luxury brands has only just begun. The series of public opinion storms surrounding the SU7 Ultra and the worrying resale value of second-hand cars are all causing challenges for the subsequent conversion of luxury car users, as it faces a lack of momentum.

After Xiaomi Auto granted all salespeople in authorized stores the permission to sell the SU7 Ultra, it can leverage a larger sales team to promote and convert orders for the SU7 Ultra. This adjustment not only addresses market competition but also optimizes the efficiency of sales resources.

At the same time, this poses a greater challenge for frontline management. How to ensure consistency in sales quality and user experience, and how to maintain the luxury car tone of the SU7 Ultra requires Xiaomi to optimize and support its training, management, and incentive systems.