Xiaomi Modena Spotted During Winter Testing in China

Xiaomi is getting into the electric vehicle segment and its first product is expected to be a Tesla Model 3 rival. Based on new reports, a picture of a heavily camouflaged test car is going around the internet, with rumours claiming it to be Xiaomi's first EV car. 

The pictures don't reveal much other than the fact this EV sedan has a coupe-like roofline as well as a low-slung profile. Xiaomi is rumoured to working on two EV cars, and the one spotted here is believed to be the Modena.

The photos come from Inner Mongolia, which offers perfect conditions for extreme weather testing - snow and blistering cold all day and night long. The company is most likely looking at the battery performance in cold conditions and working on vehicle handling in the snow. We just talked about how the cold weather affects electric car range.

According to one Chinese blogger, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun himself has joined the test drivers and is taking part in the winter testing in Mongolia. It wouldn’t be a much of a surprise, Jun is not only a huge car fan but the Modena project is close to his heart and he likes to pay close attention to the progress.

Xiaomi decided to expand into automotive markets only in September 2021. The company committed nearly $1.5 billion to this project and despite many regulatory delays and development issues, the project seems to be progressing well. The official target for production start is the first half of 2024.

Initially the company was using BYD Han cars as test mules for its autonomous driving software assessment. The first Xiaomi vehicles were spotted only recently on the roads across China and that’s when the codename Modena popped up as well.

As it is the case with most electric sedans, the Xiaomi Modena has a very aerodynamic shape with a long hood and swooping roofline dropping gently towards the back. There are the ubiquitous retractable door handles and LiDAR sensors on the roof.

According to Chinese media, the Xiaomi Modena will be available in three versions. The two entry models will use BYD LFP ”blade” batteries, while the top trim will get the latest CATL Qilin battery pack. Infotainment will be handled by the latest Qualcomm’s 8295 chips which offer 30 TOPS of NPU computing power.

As for pricing, Xiaomi is being rather modest with its targets as the car is reportedly going to cost between $38,350 and $51,650. That’s right in the middle of the EV price range in China and it will make the Modena a great value offering. Xiaomi is reportedly already working on its second vehicle, codenamed Lemans, which is planned to go on sale in 2025.

January 19, 2023