360,000 yuan? Xiaomi, a newcomer to the car manufacturing industry, may have a high price tag due to its lack of voice in the supply chain.

On January 30, it was reported that a Xiaomi pure electric car model BJ7000MBEVA1 had been registered, and the insurance cost showed that the vehicle price was 361,400 yuan. Based on this, the outside world speculated that the price of Xiaomi SU7 would be as high as more than 360,000 yuan.

Xiaomi quickly pointed out that the outside speculation was untrue. Wang Hua, general manager of the company's public relations department, posted on social media that buying insurance requires a set price, so this price is only internal.

Some netizens also pointed out that there are no strict regulations on the price for new car registration, and the registered car companies need to provide real invoices, but the prices on the invoices have no actual reference value.

Although Xiaomi has strongly denied that the price of SU7 will be as high as more than 360,000 yuan, Xiaomi's chairman and CEO has repeatedly stated that SU7 will not be a low-priced model.

At the Xiaomi Automotive Technology Conference held on December 28 last year, Lei Jun mentioned that "the price of Xiaomi SU7 at 99,000 yuan or 149,000 yuan is impossible. The higher price of SU7 is because the car has excellent configuration, so the cost is higher. Lei Jun said that the performance of SU7 is equivalent to the 2 million to 3 million luxury cars among fuel vehicles, such as Porsche 911TurboS and Maybach S5804MATIC.

Lei Jun also revealed that in order to realize his dream of making cars, Xiaomi's investment in the project has far exceeded 10 billion yuan, and the actual approved funds have reached 10 billion US dollars, or about 72 billion yuan.

According to Xiaomi's huge investment, outside analysts said that even with the most conservative estimate, the price of Xiaomi SU7 will definitely exceed 200,000 yuan and easily reach the 250,000 yuan range.

However, for a newcomer in the industry, Xiaomi SU7 will be "encircled and attacked" by a number of products in this price range. Tesla Model Y, BYD Tang, Wenjie M7 and other new energy vehicle models are all in this price range.

If the price of SU7 reaches over 300,000 yuan, its competitors will become many high-end models. In terms of brand positioning and appeal, it will be difficult for Xiaomi to compare with them. No wonder some people joked that Lei Jun was a little arrogant, and said that "Mi fans have just grown up, not become rich."

It seems that Xiaomi's attempt to replicate its success in the mobile phone industry in the new energy vehicle industry is much more dangerous.

As a brand that pays great attention to cost-effectiveness, Xiaomi has not been able to continue its myth of being the "king of cost-effectiveness" and release the "first smart car for young people" after launching "the first smartphone for young people" and "the first smart TV for young people". This is probably related to Xiaomi's identity as a "newcomer" in the field of car manufacturing.

Car manufacturing is a typical "one person cannot support the whole show" industry. Car companies are heavily dependent on the supply chain. In the production process of automobiles, supply chain companies play a vital role.

Traditional car companies have their own mature supply chains. As large customers that can provide extremely large orders every year, mature car companies can get parts from suppliers first. In addition, with a stable order volume, traditional car companies also have strong bargaining power and can lock in supply at a lower price.

Xiaomi, which has just started making cars, has limited control over the supply chain, and its bargaining power is difficult to compare with traditional car companies that have been deeply involved in the industry for many years. Therefore, higher vehicle prices may be inevitable.

For consumers who want to try Xiaomi cars, it may be a good choice to become a "wait and see" party, and wait patiently for Xiaomi to launch SU5 and SU3 in a few years. By then, Xiaomi cars priced at 100,000 yuan will appear on the market. Moreover, with the maturity of the supply chain and manufacturing technology, the product quality will be relatively more guaranteed.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.