The name SU7 for Xiaomi's car has a straightforward reason: "SU" stands for "Speed Ultra," reflecting Xiaomi's pursuit of vehicle performance, emphasizing speed and extreme concepts.
Why the Number 7?
One explanation is that Lei Jun named it 7 to honor the seven founders of the company.
The number 7 is somewhat magical.
Music consists of seven notes: 1234567; the rainbow has seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet; an abacus has seven beads: two on the top and five on the bottom; Tang poetry often follows a seven-character or seven-sentence format, showcasing the beauty of ancient poetic rhythms; in chemistry, a pH of 7 represents neutrality, with pure water having a pH value of 7.
The number 7 is also common in the arts. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the "007" movies, the animated series "Calabash Brothers" (seven brothers with extraordinary abilities), "The Seven Fairies," "The Qixi Festival," and so on, all feature the number 7.
In Pythagorean mathematical theory, the most perfect shapes are the triangle and the quadrilateral, and 7. being the sum of 3 and 4. is considered a perfect number.
Did Lei Jun consider these when naming the car SU7?
"SU7" is a typical combination of letters and numbers, not entirely novel. This is commonly used in military equipment, such as Su-27. Su-30. J-11. J-20. H-20. etc. Numbers often represent models and generational differences.
The Business Perspective
I prefer to interpret Lei Jun's naming of SU7 from a purely business perspective.
"SU" is an abbreviation of a concept, and its pronunciation is clear and easy to remember. Even if consumers cannot pronounce "Su," simply reading out the two letters won't increase the difficulty of remembering it, implying that its spread and marketing costs are not high.
Why the number 7? From a marketing standpoint, there are some considerations. This point has not been officially explained by Xiaomi, so it is just my personal interpretation. Xiaomi may not have thought this way, but I believe structuring their product logic in this manner is correct and lays the groundwork for future product line enrichment and improvement.
BMW has Series 1. 3. 5. and 7. with the 7 Series being the high-end car. BYD has recently launched the Yangwang 8 and Yangwang 9.
Have you noticed? Why didn't BYD launch a Yangwang 7 but directly went to Yangwang 8?
It seems to imply BYD's ambition to rival and surpass BMW. In fact, it has surpassed BMW in many areas.
Establishing a Product Matrix
Why did Xiaomi launch the "SU7" without first introducing "SU5." "SU6." or "SU8"? It is likely because Xiaomi wants to establish a future product matrix, with 7 indicating high-end. However, its cost-effectiveness is mid-range, cleverly using the number 7. which implies high-end value in the automotive world, to achieve a competitive advantage.
In the future, they can develop "SU8." "SU9" upwards, and "SU6." "SU5." or even "SU3." "SU1" downwards.
Lei Jun chose an excellent number, beneficial for the beginning and even more advantageous for the future.
