Apple’s major Chinese smartphone rival Xiaomi has beaten the company to the punch by releasing a fully-fledged car, and to rub it in they named it after the iPhone.
While Apple Car is almost definitely a thing, the worst-kept secret in tech is likely not coming until later in the decade. The Xiaomi SU7 sedan, however, will begin deliveries in just three months time.
As CarNewsChina reports, the car has been “leaked” by filings with local regulators, which include high-res shots of the vehicle published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) before their official announcement.
“Xiaomi SU7 is an electric sedan with dimensions 4997/1963/1455 mm and a wheelbase of 3000 mm. It will have two wheel options, 19″ and 20″; tire specifications are 245/45 R19 and 245/40 R20, respectively,” the report states, “Xiaomi showed two versions – with lidar and without. Lidar is installed behind the front windshield.”
There are two powertrain options, a 220kW RWD motor or a 495kW AWD motor. Other exciting features include an active rear wing and a built-in ETC function that will automatically pay tolls without the need to stop the car. However, it’s the name that will really rub Apple the wrong way.
What’s in a name?
That’s right, there are three versions of Xiaomi’s 4-door, 5-seater. The SU7, SU7 Pro, and the SU7 Max, a hilarious (and possibly intentional) nod to Apple’s iPhone lineup, notably the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This might be a sheer coincidence, but Xiaomi has copied Apple enough times to make me think it might not be. The outfit is notorious for making devices that look like clones of Apple products, notably its old Mi4 which looked like an iPhone 5, and perhaps the most egregious example, its Mi8 phone. There are countless other alternatives, including most recently a new Xiaomi advert that is almost a frame-for-frame copy of Apple’s epic Titanium advert for its new iPhone.
One thing Xiaomi can’t be accused of copying is the actual Apple Car, because nobody knows what that looks like. However, as X user Ian Zelbo notes, I’d imagine that the lawyers at Porsche, Tesla, and McLaren are all sharpening their knives as we speak.
