Xiaomi increases investment in "Safety Course"

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

Editor | Zhang Xiaoling

On the first day of the Guangzhou Auto Show, Lei Jun did not appear at the launch event for Xiaomi's cars.

Standing on stage was Xiaomi's Vice President Li Xiaoshuang. Aside from technological innovations, the core of Li Xiaoshuang's speech was singular: safety. On the screen were three large words without any small print annotations—Safety is the premise, safety is the foundation, safety is everything.

The marketing flavor suddenly faded, and the safety card was put on the table. This year, Xiaomi, which has been mired in public opinion turmoil, is undergoing some subtle changes.

At the Guangzhou Auto Show, Li Xiaoshuang did not discuss any embellishing features but focused on showcasing the Xiaomi HAD Enhanced version and safety assistance functions.

In the first half of intelligent driving, the industry generally adopts "rule-driven" or basic "data-driven" approaches. This is akin to having drivers memorize traffic regulations or driving by imitating memories. However, this model quickly encountered a ceiling: faced with extremely rare scenarios, the model could not learn effectively due to a lack of training samples.

The "world model" that Xiaomi is promoting essentially constructs a high-fidelity virtual simulation engine. In this virtual world, the system no longer relies on accidents that must occur in reality to learn but can simulate and practice tirelessly, testing and correcting mistakes in a vast array of generated scenarios—"points for correct actions, deductions for wrong actions."

This paradigm shift from "imitation" to "cognition" aims to leverage the generalization ability of algorithms to cover those long-tail risk scenarios, thereby reducing systemic driving risks.

This time, Xiaomi's HAD Enhanced version AEB has also been fully upgraded, with the AEB forward speed range expanded from 5-135 km/h to 1-135 km/h, and a new AE backward speed range of 1-30 km/h added; Xiaomi has also extended the recognition targets for low-speed collision avoidance (L-AEB/R-AEB) from traditional vehicles and pedestrians to include water barriers, crash barrels, pillars, and even walls. In response to the industry's frequent "accidental acceleration" controversies, Xiaomi specifically introduced MAI (Misacceleration Suppression) and the underlying linkage with AEB.

Behind the dense release of functional points, Xiaomi is attempting to build a firewall with technology. Li Xiaoshuang also occasionally "patches" his statements. He emphasized that assisted driving is not autonomous driving, and drivers must remain focused at all times.

Just before the Guangzhou Auto Show (on November 18), Xiaomi had just delivered what it called "the strongest third-quarter report ever"—the automotive business achieved operational profitability for the first time in a single quarter, with quarterly deliveries surpassing 100,000 units. However, the capital market gave an unexpectedly negative response: the day after the performance announcement, the stock price fell instead of rising, even experiencing significant fluctuations.

Behind the dramatic fluctuations in stock price lies the capital market's deepest anxiety about Xiaomi's automotive division: when the traffic dividend peaks and 500,000 cars are on the road, can this "internet celebrity car company" withstand the backlash from safety incidents?

Since the release of the SU7 on March 28, 2024, Xiaomi has completed the offline production of its 500,000th vehicle in just over 600 days. This speed is rare in the history of the global automotive industry. In the startup phase, the capital market values speed and the ability to create blockbuster products, and is willing to offer high premiums for this But at the scale of 500,000 units, the logic has changed.

At the scale of 10,000 units, occasional accidents can be absorbed by fan filters and other means; however, at a base of 500,000 units, any small probability safety flaw, multiplied by the large ownership base, could evolve into a "black swan" event that impacts the foundation of the brand.

For Xiaomi, which has a huge flow halo, it cannot withstand the turmoil of a "safety trust crisis" more than any traditional car company.

After the accidents in Tongling and Chengdu, the public's scrutiny of the founder's statements indicates that tying the brand's safety to one person is not a long-term strategy.

At this Guangzhou Auto Show, Li Xiaoshuang's appearance and the unveiling of the 1,800-engineer team also represent Xiaomi Auto's attempt to showcase the maturity of its organizational structure. It seeks to convey to the outside world: Xiaomi is no longer just a startup driven by the founder's charisma, but a mature car company with a complete hierarchical system, professional technical team, and industrial foundation.

This transformation is crucial for the upcoming battles. Although Xiaomi's YU7 has already secured the top SUV sales in October, it is a model aimed at "family users." Unlike coupe users, family users are highly sensitive to safety and cannot tolerate any flashy, influencer-style exaggeration.

Only when Xiaomi proves that it can still produce the safest and most reliable cars with a well-established engineering team, even without Lei Jun's shouting, can it truly win over this most conservative and largest market.

Xiaomi at the Guangzhou Auto Show has become less sexy.

It no longer discusses those details that make female users scream, nor does it create viral content on short video platforms. But this lack of excitement is exactly what the capital market wants to see at this moment.

After crossing the threshold of 500,000 units, Xiaomi Auto no longer needs to prove how popular it is, but rather how stable it can be. The series of accidents and public relations crises this year have also served as alarm bells, waking up Xiaomi, which has been immersed in the "delivery miracle."

When the marketing bubble bursts, Xiaomi must prove that even without Lei Jun's shouting, it can still rely on its industrial capabilities to produce reliable cars. This is a necessary lesson for survival