Xiaomi surprises the world with the announcement of the electric SU7
Last week we talked to you again (and it won’t be the last) about the Xiaomi SU7 and how sales forecasts fell short. In the first 28 days of circulation, Xiaomi received almost 76,000 orders, while the brand estimated SU7 sales at 100,000 for the year! So, faced with this demand, we had no choice but to optimize the production processes in the factory, facilities that we have already shown you in this video.
The truth is that Xiaomi SU7 brings a lot of joy to the company and they hope to export the car to Europe and the US within about two years, although the time frame could be reduced thanks to these new production methods, which will make it possible to release a new car every 76 seconds, which is a real “miracle” compared to other industrial production processes. How did they achieve this?
Everything is in the hands of robots
The Xiaomi car megafactory in China is practically automated, and almost no one interferes with the processes. There are more than 700 robots and 181 autonomous mobile robotic units delivering stamped parts. Each of these autonomous robots uses lidar technology to navigate the factory. Other machines are involved in product quality testing, which is 99.9% accurate with defect alarms.
Although the real secret to the time reduction lies in the machine known as the 9100t, the name of which hints at its power. It was developed in collaboration with Haitian.
It is roughly the size of two basketball courts and is a rear floor assembly of the Xiaomi SU7, and also reduces 72 parts that previously required stamping and welding into one module. In terms of production, this means a reduction in the number of welding points by 840 and a reduction in production time by 45%.
Carlos is an expert automotive and automotive journalist who has been working in the media for over 16 years. He joined Car and Driver in 2007, where his primary focus is product testing, which he delivers to audiences through YouTube videos and extensive web and paper analysis of the latest news stories presented. As a car enthusiast, you can also read how he interviews various industry leaders, brings you the latest driving-related news, and reveals the most unexpected tidbits about leading brands.
His extensive career also includes work in other media such as El Mundo, Coche Actual and AutoScout24, and he made his first television appearance in the interview program “El Circulo Neox”, broadcast on the Atresmedia channel of the same name. Long before that, almost as a child, he was a reader of Car and Driver, when the title was directed by the Formula 1 driver Emilio de Villota, with whom he was lucky enough to work.
While at the Hearst Spain publishing group, Carlos wrote engine sections for magazines such as Qué Me Dices, Emprendedores and deViajes, and now he does so every day in Car and Driver and occasionally in Esquire. If he’s not in the office, you’ll find him on a plane heading to any part of the world with one purpose: to ride the latest new thing on the market, whether it has batteries or not. Oh! And he is an ardent defender of the classics, although he no longer has his own Volkswagen Golf GTI mk3.
Through his work, he was lucky enough to race a Mercedes-AMG GT at Laguna Seca, and made his debut as a driver at the legendary Nordschleife in a BMW M2. He also visited such exotic destinations as the Dhofar Mountains in Oman, which he visited on board an Audi RS 3 Sedan; the spectacular Vancouver Island, which he toured in a Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo; and the beaches of Essaouira thanks to the wild Ford Ranger Raptor.