Range Isn’t The Only Key
These days, a lot of automakers are quite proud of the longer ranges that their batteries can do. After all, we’re at the point where we’re starting to see them come close to the engines. It does help quell fears of range anxiety, but there’s another factor to consider.
That would be battery life. We’re not just talking about percentages here. We’re talking about how much charge the packs can still hold even after hundreds of thousands of miles. Whether it’s a mobile phone or a car, batteries degrade over time and with use, greatly reducing their usability. However, it seems Chinese automakers are leading the pack in that regard.
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A Surprise From Xiaomi
Xiaomi may be better known as a mobile device company, but it’s taking its automotive division very seriously. It currently builds the SU7 and YU7, and it’s been doing well in its home market so far. Now that thousands own them, it’s fair to say a couple have racked up a lot of miles.
As reported by Car News China, one such owner has managed 265,757 kilometers (165,133 miles) in their SU7 in a relatively short period. Well, China is a huge country, but it’s impressive mileage for a young EV product. It amassed those miles by travelling an average of about 370 miles per day. Despite the high mileage, the battery life still remained at 94.5 percent.
Xiaomi
How it Fares Against Tesla
To put further context to the Xiaomi’s battery life, it’s good to compare it against something more ubiquitous like a Tesla Model 3. Compared to its Chinese competitor, it loses more of its usable capacity, as reported by some owners who have reached equivalent miles.
One 2023 Model 3 owner with 101,674 miles posted his degradation results over at Reddit, and saw that it had lost 12 percent. Torque News on the other hand reported that another owner with a 2020 model saw a 15 percent loss at around 102,000.
Those results, while par for the course, pale in comparison to the Xiaomi SU7. A difference of about 7 percent is a big deal when it comes to holding a charge, and it points to the Xiaomi lasting longer in the long run. Also remember that the Chinese EV had over 60,000 miles more compared to the two reports mentioned. It also reached a higher mileage in a shorter time.
Tesla
Over 500 Charging Cycles
Mind you, the car achieved that mileage in just 18 months. The owner admitted that he was expecting the car to lose about 10 percent of its battery life, given the distance his car has covered so far.
“I had assumed it would be down to 90% at best. To see 94.5% was truly surprising,” said the owner.
The high-mileage SU7 is equipped with a 94.7kWh battery pack. Based on an average consumption of 116.4 MPGe, the batteries have seen 506 complete charge-discharge cycles. With that in mind, it’s almost certain that partial charging cycles are in the thousands. It’s unknown how often the car was fast-charged, but even so, retaining that much battery life after all those cycles is impressive.
Xiaomi
Going the Distance
The video of the high-mileage car has since caught the attention of Xiaomi CEO, Lei Jun, so it’s nice to see that it’s getting some recognition from the company’s top brass. Perhaps spurred by this achievement, the owner plans to do mega miles on his SU7. He plans to do 600,000 kilometers within three years with the car, or about 373,000 miles.
Given that he drives about 370 miles per day, he could hit that target in 903 days. Should he continue at that rate, he could actually beat the three-year target with a few months to spare. We sure hope that he does achieve that, and perhaps Xiaomi could take a look at the car and build even more robust and longer-lasting EVs. As for the owner, we’ll be waiting for the 600,000 km update.
Xiaomi
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