It feels like an excellent drawback to have. 1,000,000 pre-orders, servers crashing, ready lists stretching for months — that is success, proper? Lei Jun is not so certain. The Xiaomi CEO simply pushed again on the concept that most preliminary orders equals most success, and his reasoning is value taking severely.
The primary-generation SU7 and YU7 each offered sooner than Xiaomi might construct them. Prospects waited. Complaints adopted. The thrill of launch day curdled into frustration over supply timelines, and that is not a good way to begin an possession relationship with a model new automobile model.
Key Factors
- Lei Jun said that overwhelming preliminary orders usually are not best, citing supply timeline issues from the SU7 and YU7 launches
- Xiaomi started large-scale mass manufacturing of the brand new SU7 two months forward of launch to handle supply-demand imbalance
- The aim is matching supply pace to demand somewhat than maximizing day-one order numbers
- Lei Jun argues that balancing manufacturing and gross sales is the one actual resolution to the client expertise drawback
- No producer can put together infinite provide — Xiaomi is attempting to get nearer to practical readiness earlier than orders open
The First Technology Taught Them One thing
The unique SU7 launch was a phenomenon. 200 thousand YU7 orders in three minutes was a headline that traveled globally. However behind these numbers was a rising queue of shoppers ready months for a automobile they’d already paid for — and that ready breeds resentment sooner than nearly the rest in shopper merchandise.
Lei Jun is actually admitting the launch technique wanted refinement. Beginning mass manufacturing two months sooner than deliberate for the brand new SU7 is the sensible response to that lesson. It will not get rid of wait occasions completely, however it closes the hole between demand spike and supply actuality meaningfully.
“Extra Is Not At all times Higher” — He is Proper
The logic holds up. A automobile is not a software program replace or a telephone app — you possibly can’t push supply digitally. Each car requires bodily manufacturing time, logistics coordination, and high quality checks earlier than it reaches a driveway. When orders outpace that pipeline by an element of ten, the mathematics would not work no matter how exhausting the manufacturing facility runs.
Managing expectations and matching provide to demand earlier than launch somewhat than scrambling after is a extra mature operational method. It would imply smaller headline order numbers on day one. It ought to imply significantly fewer offended prospects six months later.
For a model nonetheless constructing its automotive popularity, that trade-off appears apparent.
