Xiaomi SU7 Ultra insurance pricing does not follow the "conventional path," breaking the "industry rule" that new energy vehicle insurance premiums are generally higher than those for fuel vehicles of the same price range.

As Xiaomi's flagship model entering the high-end market, the SU7 Ultra has been continuously sparking heated discussions since its launch on February 27. This model is positioned to challenge the high-end market with "performance comparable to Porsche, technology catching up with Tesla, and luxury rivaling BBA."

In the past, insurance premiums for new energy vehicles were generally more expensive than those for fuel vehicles of the same price range, but the premium pricing of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra focuses on cost-effectiveness.

According to netizens' actual tests, the first-year comprehensive insurance premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which is priced at 529,000 yuan, is roughly in the range of 9,500 to 11,000 yuan. Compared to similarly priced BBA "56E" (BMW 5 Series, Audi A6L, Mercedes-Benz E-Class) fuel models, the insurance premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is about 3,000 yuan lower. Against the industry backdrop where new energy vehicle insurance premiums are generally 20% to 30% higher, the premium pricing of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra stands out notably.

Zhang Lei, CEO of Cheche Technology, told Time Finance that the reason why the insurance premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is lower than that for fuel vehicles of the same price range fundamentally lies in the shift of the new energy vehicle insurance pricing logic from "person-based pricing" to "data-based pricing." This change relies on both the active risk management provided by intelligent driving technologies and the enhanced risk identification capabilities brought about by data sharing among car manufacturers. As L3 autonomous driving becomes more widespread and the data ecosystem improves, such a price difference may become the norm in the future.

Intelligent technology is another highlight of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi, revealed that Xiaomi is collaborating with leading insurance companies to design intelligent driving protection services, offering up to 3 million yuan in coverage.

In addition, Xiaomi has also made breakthroughs in its layout in the insurance sector. In October 2024, Beijing BNP Paribas Tianxing Property Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "BNP Paribas Tianxing P&C") was officially approved for establishment. Xiaomi Group, through Sichuan Yinnmi Technology Co., Ltd., indirectly entered the property insurance company, aiming to build an "automobile + insurance" ecosystem loop.

Has the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra lowered the insurance premium?

"Cheaper than expected!" Zhou Hao (a pseudonym), one of the first owners of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, told Time Finance. As a high-end model with supercar performance and a starting price of 530,000 yuan, its first-year comprehensive insurance premium is only around 10,000 yuan, "quite reasonable!"

Zhou Hao disclosed to Time Finance that according to the calculation by a large property insurance company, under the configuration of vehicle damage insurance amounting to 556,000 yuan and third-party liability insurance amounting to 3 million yuan, the first-year comprehensive insurance premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is about 10,200 yuan.

Time Finance learned that the insurance companies cooperating with Xiaomi Auto include People's Insurance Company of China (PICC), Ping An of China, China Pacific Insurance, and Sunshine Insurance, among others. They offer users two insurance plans: Basic and Premium. Under these two plans, the first-year premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra differs by approximately 400 yuan.

Image source: Provided by the car owner

Based on feedback from netizens, Time Finance has found that the first-year comprehensive insurance premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra generally falls within the range of 9,500 to 11,000 yuan (with vehicle damage insurance coverage between 5.3 million and 5.6 million yuan, and third-party liability insurance coverage between 3 million and 4 million yuan).

From a market positioning perspective, the target user group for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is very likely the potential consumers of BBA's "56E" (BMW 5 Series, Audi A6L, Mercedes-Benz E-Class) mentioned by Lei Jun at the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra price launch event. According to Dcar Data, the suggested retail price for the BMW 5 Series is 439,900 to 525,900 yuan, the Audi A6L is 427,900 to 656,800 yuan, and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is 447,200 to 599,800 yuan.

A BMW 5 Series owner showed Time Finance her first-year insurance policy. With a vehicle damage insurance amount close to 400,000 yuan, the premium for just the vehicle damage insurance was nearly 11,000 yuan. Adding compulsory traffic insurance and other types of insurance, the total first-year comprehensive insurance premium for her new car exceeded 15,000 yuan.

Time Finance found that many owners of the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6L, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class insured their vehicles with vehicle damage insurance amounts generally ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 yuan. However, even though the vehicle damage insurance amount is lower than that of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the first-year comprehensive insurance premiums for these models still generally fall within the 11,000 to 15,000 yuan range, which is about 3,000 yuan higher on average compared to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra's first-year comprehensive insurance premium.

Why is the insurance premium for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra lower than that of similarly priced fuel cars?

Zhang Lei analyzed to Time Finance that there are mainly two reasons: First, insurance companies assess the risk dimensions differently for electric vehicles and fuel cars. Fuel cars primarily focus on the risk of mechanical component failures, while electric vehicles need to additionally evaluate the potential risks associated with core components such as batteries and electronic control systems. However, as a high-end model, the SU7 Ultra may have reduced accident rates or maintenance complexity through technological optimization, thereby obtaining a lower risk score; second, Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, under the umbrella of Xiaomi Auto, has accumulated a large amount of driving data through connected vehicle and intelligent systems. This data can help insurance companies more accurately assess risks, thus achieving more reasonable premium pricing.

Lei Jun is also laying out plans in the new energy vehicle insurance sector

Smart technology is a major highlight of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. At the same time, Xiaomi's "cross-industry" move into securing an insurance license has also drawn attention from the industry.

At the launch event for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra on February 27, Lei Jun stated that advanced smart technology is the key differentiator between new luxury cars and old ones. He introduced that the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra comes equipped with end-to-end full-scenario intelligent driving, which has already started to be fully rolled out. Additionally, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra also features functions such as roaming spot parking and exiting from extremely narrow parking spaces. "Intelligent driving is the high ground in the competition for new energy vehicles. The goal of Xiaomi Auto is to firmly establish itself in the top tier of China's intelligent driving sector," he said.

The transformation in intelligent driving technology has also prompted car manufacturers and insurance institutions to strengthen cooperation, accelerating the development of intelligent driving insurance products. During the aforementioned launch event, Lei Jun announced that to allow users to use intelligent driving technology more worry-free, Xiaomi is designing protection services with leading insurance companies, which will be released in April, providing up to 3 million yuan in coverage.

An industry insider told Time Finance that if Xiaomi collaborates with insurance companies to introduce preferential insurance schemes for intelligent driving features, it may further widen the premium gap between Xiaomi's new energy vehicles and traditional luxury cars.

Previously, there were also market rumors that Xpeng Motors would collaborate with leading insurance institutions to launch customized intelligent insurance products, and Ping An P&C Insurance, together with Seres, under its AITO brand, has also launched a liability insurance plan for intelligent driving.

"The competition in the new energy vehicle market is fierce, and Xiaomi SU7 Ultra enhances its product competitiveness by optimizing the insurance cooperation model, which may offer lower repair costs to insurance companies at the maintenance end." Zhang Lei told Time Finance. With the application of intelligent driving technology, the insurance industry needs to pay more attention to the safety performance of software and hardware. In addition to considering the risks of software and hardware failures, it also needs to consider new types of risks such as cybersecurity and cyber attacks. The focus of auto insurance premium pricing will gradually shift from the risks brought by driver behavior to the new risks brought by machine driving.

Moreover, Xiaomi Group is also accelerating the layout of property insurance licenses. In November 2024, the State Administration of Financial Regulation issued an approval for the establishment of BNP Paribas Tianxing Property Insurance, with the date of issue being October of the same year. The approval shows that it agrees to the establishment of BNP Paribas Tianxing Property Insurance by the French Paris Insurance Group, Sichuan Yinnmi Technology Co., Ltd., and Volkswagen Financial Services AG.

In the shareholder lineup of BNP Paribas Tianxing Property Insurance, Sichuan Yinnmi Technology Co., Ltd. is a member of the Xiaomi Group, and its sole shareholder is Beijing Xiaomi Electronic Software Technology Co., Ltd. Lei Jun is one of the two shareholders of Beijing Xiaomi Electronic Software Technology Co., Ltd., holding 90% of the shares.