Xiaomi cars have officially entered the “customization era.”
At the annual speech on September 25th, Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi cars would offer personalized customization services.
This time, on the basis of the 9 colors initially launched for the Xiaomi SU7, 5 new custom color schemes (Amethyst, Racing Red, Twilight Rose, Flowing Gold Pink Matte, and Tender Bud Yellow) have been added. Meanwhile, Xiaomi has launched the “Hundred Colors Plan,” collaborating with global top – tier paint suppliers BASF and PPG, with a plan to design 100 paint colors within three years. Along with custom interiors, personalized components, and an exclusive customization center, Xiaomi is trying to incorporate the “luxury car narrative” into the track of large – scale industrial production.
Currently, the Xiaomi customization service plan is in a one – year trial operation. A maximum of 40 cars can be customized per month, and it only supports the customization of the SU7 Max and SU7 Ultra models, which can be combined with existing configurations.

In the traditional sense, customization is the soul of luxury cars. What it sells is not functionality but status and scarcity. Xiaomi’s choice to try this model in the price range of 300,000 – 600,000 yuan shows an ambition that goes far beyond “a few more colors.” It is a reconstruction of the industry narrative.
JPMorgan Chase once described the Xiaomi SU7 as the “Chinese electric – car version of Labubu.” And indeed, for many car owners, what first impresses them about Xiaomi cars is not the technical parameters, but the luxury – car look brought by the long front, large hood, and streamlined exterior, as well as the resulting emotional value and the rate of turning heads. When people look at it, they think of Porsche. Buying a Xiaomi car seems like getting an affordable alternative to a series of luxury cars.
The customization service can further materialize this projection: you can choose your own “luxury – car version” just like assembling a high – end gaming PC.
Underlying all this is still Xiaomi’s classic logic of “super – value gain.” Lei Jun is good at creating this “sense of value mismatch”: making users feel that with a car priced at 300,000 – 400,000 yuan, they are getting the exterior aura of a 600,000 – yuan car and an experience unparalleled by 200,000 – yuan – class products.
Perhaps in Lei Jun’s eyes, placing an order is just the beginning of the customer’s entire life cycle. Through continuously added personalized accessories, interiors, and car – grade tissue boxes and other peripheral products, buying a car becomes “playing with a car,” and users are firmly bound within the Xiaomi ecosystem. Just like when trendy toy enthusiasts buy a piece of clothing for Labubu or a glass – covered house for Xiao Ye, their connection with Pop Mart becomes stronger.
In contrast, Tesla, for the sake of production efficiency, may change the colors of free paint at any time. The customization service experience often gives way to scale and efficiency.
From the user’s perspective, even though the price of Xiaomi’s customization service is not low, when compared with the luxury – car system and combined with scarcity, consumers may feel that they are getting a bargain. A detail can prove this: even though there are a large number of SU7 Ultra cars in stock for selection, some consumers are still willing to pay an extra 42,000 yuan and wait in line for several months just to choose the carbon – fiber double – duct front hood.
The driving force of symbolic consumption may have surpassed functional needs.
But the question is, can Xiaomi cars succeed in customization? “No mass – market brand in the world has ever done a good job in customization because it’s very troublesome. If there’s a slightest mistake, these are ultra – high – end users, and they’ll scold you from head to toe,” Lei Jun also admitted. This service is complex and difficult. In the past, only luxury – car brands could afford it. Xiaomi started preparing for it internally three years ago. It was once canceled before the release of the Xiaomi SU7 last year, and there were still major internal disagreements before its official announcement this year. Eventually, he chose to “give it a try for a year.”
For Xiaomi cars, there are at least three challenges: First, the flexibility of the supply chain. The material cycle for paint, interiors, and custom components can take months. Any delay may slow down the vehicle delivery. Second, the contradiction between scale and personalization. Xiaomi’s advantage lies in scale and cost control, while customization requires flexible production and cannot be replicated in large quantities. Third, the management of service expectations. Xiaomi has a large customer base and extremely high market attention. High expectations mean faster criticism. Once there are differences in the experience, the backlash effect of public opinion will be magnified exponentially.
Therefore, this is not only a differentiated marketing attempt but also a challenge to Xiaomi’s entire production and organizational capabilities. If Xiaomi can make customization work and transplant the “uniqueness” of luxury cars to the mass market, then it will not only achieve cost – effectiveness in price but also “bring down” the service experience.
For Xiaomi, this is an exploration of the boundaries of the traditional automotive industry; for the industry, it may open up a new consumption segment: neither a substitute for luxury cars nor a simple cost – effective choice, but an affordable customization that showcases personalization; for consumers, they can achieve “big things” with “little money.”
However, during this current transitional period, Xiaomi SU7 owners may have to put up with some inconvenience for now.
This article is from the WeChat official account “Noise Reduction NoNoise.” Author: Liu Shiyu. Republished by 36Kr with permission.
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