Image Credit: Xiaomi.
The whole world knows that I'm all for a bit of electric wizardry. Give me a motor that spins fast enough to liquefy my kidneys, and I'm a happy man. But Xiaomi's latest effort, the SU7 Ultra, seems to have hit a bit of a brick wall. After a launch that saw more hype than a royal wedding, sales have plummeted faster than a lead balloon. In December, Xiaomi only managed to move 45 units. That's seriously low - you'd find more people in a Scottish pub on a Tuesday morning.
When this "hyper sedan" first arrived, it promised the world. It looks like a Porsche Taycan that's been hitting the gym and eating its greens, but with a price tag of roughly $75,000, although that's the price in China. For that, you get a mind-bending 1,548 hp and a 0-60 mph sprint in just 1.98 seconds. It even tore up the Nürburgring in 6 minutes and 46 seconds. On paper, it's a masterpiece. In reality? It's currently about as popular as a skunk at a garden party.
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
What went wrong? For starters, Xiaomi played a bit of a prank on early buyers. They sold them a 1,500-plus hp monster, then "neutered" it with safety software that chopped off nearly 650 hp. Imagine buying a Thoroughbred and finding out it's been fitted with a speed limiter and a donkey's temperament. As you can probably imagine, the fans weren't thrilled. Even though Xiaomi has since restored the power, the damage to the brand's street cred was already done.
Then there are the "features." Owners started complaining that the aggressive hood ducts were about as functional as a fireplace made out of strawberry ice cream. To make things worse, reports started popping up all over Chinese social media about doors refusing to open after an accident. A bit of a "minor" issue when you're sitting on a 93.7 kWh battery ready to go up in flames. And then, the company started asking for extra cash after customers already paid the deposits. I don't remember ever buying a pint and then being told the glass costs extra. Not exactly a way to win hearts and minds, Xiaomi…
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
But, despite all the hiccups and despite being nearly 200 inches long and weighing a hefty 5,200 lbs, the Ultra is a nice beast. The real problem it has is the fact that in the fickle world of Chinese tech, "new" is everything. The young crowd has already moved on to the next shiny thing. It's a shame, especially since the "civilian" SU7 is a runaway success - selling 258,164 units in 2025 and leaving the Tesla Model 3 in its wake. But the Ultra? It's the high-performance halo sedan that everyone admired, but nobody actually wanted to live with.
Xiaomi's CEO, Lei Jun, is still putting on a brave face, promising 550,000 total EV sales for 2026. He claims the Ultra's flop doesn't really matter because the household market is where the real money is. He might be right, but it's a bit sad to see a car with a 217 mph top speed gathering dust. I was lucky enough to have spent some time in one, and it's a terrifying, brilliant mess of a machine. I just hope I can nab one for my own garage before they pull the plug for good.
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