In the wake of the tragic incident where three female university students were burned to death in a fiery explosion involving a Xiaomi SU7 on the highway, Xiaomi’s high-end car model SU7 Ultra has once again come under scrutiny recently. This time, it’s due to controversy surrounding the carbon fiber dual air duct front hood, sparking discontent among numerous car owners. Currently, hundreds of prospective car owners who have already paid deposits are demanding refunds.
According to reports from Daji Yuan News, a blogger recently conducted a visual test on the SU7 Ultra’s front hood using a smoke generator and discovered that the so-called air ducts were merely decorative and did not allow airflow to pass through, debunking the claimed functions of improving cooling and enhancing the car’s downforce.
Vehicle engineer Mr. Wang, after watching the video, stated, “This is clearly not aerodynamic design but rather typical decorative perforation.” Functional air ducts in a car should form a closed loop with the body’s cooling system and need to undergo wind tunnel testing. “Xiaomi’s front hood does not possess the functionality as initially advertised,” he remarked.
Following these revelations, car owners began to question Xiaomi’s car advertising claims. Reservation holder Mr. Li expressed his disappointment, saying, “I paid 42,000 yuan for the carbon fiber dual air duct front hood, only to find out it’s just for show.” He recounted that the component was marketed as a replica of the prototype car design from the Nürburgring circuit, featuring a through-flow air duct structure to enhance downforce and optimize brake cooling, even emphasized by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun on social media. Believing it to be true, Mr. Li added to his payment.
Facing a crisis of public opinion, Xiaomi issued an apology statement on the evening of May 7, acknowledging that their prior information was not clear and offering compensation measures. For undelivered orders, they provided a limited-time option to switch to an aluminum front hood for free; for those who had received their cars or locked orders, they offered 20,000 points (equivalent to about 2,000 yuan) as goodwill.
However, this proposal failed to appease the car owners’ anger. Prospective car owners who had ordered expressed dismay, noting that switching to the aluminum front hood would require re-queueing with a wait time of up to 30 to 40 weeks, feeling it was essentially penalizing consumers for Xiaomi’s false advertising. Moreover, the disparity between the compensation points and the 42,000 yuan price of the carbon fiber option did not meet their expectations. They demanded a full refund instead of being offered coupons.
According to reports from “Yicai,” a group of SU7 Ultra prospective owners has formed a rights protection alliance, with the number of people pursuing refunds exceeding 300.
Mr. Li stated that he would rather forego the 20,000 yuan (RMB) reservation fee and seek an explanation. “Everyone wants to cancel their orders because we feel deceived by false information; we trusted Lei Jun’s marketing at the time, not just because of the decorative nature of the air ducts,” he emphasized.
Legal professionals warn that if Xiaomi is found guilty of false advertising, they could face penalties under the “refund three times the purchase” rule.
This marks the second controversy for Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra within three months. In March this year, the model faced scrutiny over a fatal fire on the highway that claimed the lives of three female university students, raising concerns about battery safety. The recent carbon fiber incident has further plunged Xiaomi’s car division into a crisis of trust. Industry insiders believe that the outcome of this scandal will not only affect Xiaomi’s reputation but also serve as a landmark event in the marketing of new energy vehicles in China.
Amid mounting public pressure, Xiaomi’s car division has yet to issue further responses. However, on May 10, Xiaomi’s founder, chairman, and CEO Lei Jun took to his personal Weibo account, stating, “The past month has been the most difficult period since the establishment of Xiaomi.” Subsequently, this topic exploded on Weibo and became a top trending search on Baidu.