Short Essay 2_CHU Man Yin (1155219826)

 Xiaomi's Audience Analysis in the High-Performance EV Sector

Xiaomi's founder, Lei Jun, possesses a unique entrepreneurial mindset, breaking the public's stereotype that affordable domestic products equate to low quality. With high cost-performance products and innovative internet marketing models, coupled with the ultimate creation of "fan culture," Xiaomi has gradually transformed its image. It is well-known that Xiaomi Group's technological smartphone kingdom and smart home ecosystem have always been its trump cards. However, earlier this year, Xiaomi Group launched its first electric vehicle Xiaomi SU7. Entering the already fiercely competitive new energy vehicle track may seem to have little to do with Xiaomi's core business, but why does Xiaomi Group insist on doing so? I would like to analyze Xiaomi Group's motivation from the perspective of audience segmentation.

In the chapter "The Target Audience & Consumer Psychology," it was mentioned that understanding the target audience is crucial before deciding whether to enter a market. It not only affects the most intuitive product profitability but is also closely related to the sustainable development of the enterprise.

 

Firstly, the SU7 aims to create a high-profile "national brand," taking China as its base and gradually moving towards globalization, while tailoring to the domestic market's needs and preferences. The SU7 primarily targets urban users, especially those in first-tier and new first-tier cities. Cities indeed offer more comprehensive electric vehicle (EV) supporting facilities compared to rural areas, which is a significant advantage for the adoption and management of electric vehicles. From a demographic segmentation perspective, highly educated male groups are the main targets of the SU7. According to the 2023 China Car Consumer Survey and Business Insight Trend Report, men pay more attention to car hardware, including performance parameters, mechanical configuration, driving experience, and vehicle control. However, the selling point that Xiaomi SU7 vigorously promotes is its hardware system equipped with dual NVIDIA Orin chips, with a computing power of up to 508 TOPS for the autonomous driving system, as well as three millimeter-wave radars and twelve ultrasonic radars, which have been emphasized on multiple occasions such as press conferences. Indeed, Xiaomi Group has not given up on the female consumer market but has gradually started to value it. According to the "China Women's Car Consumption Trend Report (2024)," the average purchase price of cars by women is higher than that of men. Women prefer new energy vehicles and focus their discussions on independent, luxury, and new force brands, paying more attention to the car's exterior design, interior texture, comfort, and intelligent configuration. The SU7, in terms of both appearance and interior, references the luxury design of the famous car brand "Porsche," fully meeting the needs of female consumers in terms of style. From a results-oriented perspective, Lei Jun once said in his annual speech live broadcast: "Today, all orders for the SU7, the proportion of female car owners has exceeded 40%, and I believe the actual proportion of female car owners may be close to 50%."Winner takes all” , the market may become a new trend for Xiaomi to quickly occupy the market.

 

In addition, from a psychographic segmentation perspective, the positioning of the SU7 very much hopes to continue the momentum of the previous "fan culture," attracting a group of technology enthusiasts and becoming the brand's most loyal promoter. The concept of combining Xiaomi's ecosystem with the car-making philosophy is very smart, using existing resources to expand the ecosystem, including seamless connection with Xiaomi smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices. Users can use Xiaomi smartphones and other smart devices to remotely control the car, exchange information, and share services, achieving a close connection between smart homes and smart cars. In terms of technology network construction, it is far superior to similar brands and is bound to attract this group of enthusiastic loyal enthusiasts. With the changes of the times, whether the fan culture can generate positive word-of-mouth like Xiaomi smartphones in the past and pave the way for Xiaomi cars in the new energy track, we are all looking forward to it.