Xiaomi Fixes SU7 Ultra Hood After False Advertising Dispute With Owners

Xiaomi has begun offering a free hardware modification for its high-performance SU7 Ultra electric sedan, responding to months of complaints from owners who believed the car’s premium carbon fiber hood had been misleadingly advertised.

Starting March 10, 2026, customers who purchased the optional hood can schedule an appointment at a Xiaomi service center where technicians will install new aerodynamic components designed to make the hood functional.

The process takes roughly two to three hours.

The upgrade adds two aerodynamic vanes inside the hood’s air duct system. According to the company, the vanes help guide airflow more precisely through the front section of the vehicle, improving stability when the car is driven at very high speeds.

The update is limited to vehicles equipped with the optional carbon fiber hood, which cost buyers RMB 42,000 at the time of purchase.

When the SU7 Ultra first appeared in early 2025, Xiaomi promoted the hood as featuring dual air ducts intended to assist cooling around the battery pack and wheel area.

Owners later discovered that the ducts were largely cosmetic.

Several drivers who examined the hood more closely found that the channels did not connect to the cooling system and did not move air in any meaningful way.

The revelation quickly spread across Chinese social media and enthusiast forums, triggering anger among buyers who had paid extra for what they believed were functional performance components.

More than 400 owners argued that the marketing claims had misrepresented the design.

Dispute Over Hood Design Leads to Court Cases

The dispute eventually reached the courts.

In October 2025, a court in Suzhou ruled that Xiaomi’s marketing constituted false advertising and ordered compensation in some cases that reached triple damages.

However, the legal situation remained complicated.

A separate ruling in Changsha later sided with Xiaomi, stating that the language used in promotional material did not technically violate advertising rules.

Despite the conflicting judgments, the controversy left what many Chinese commentators described as a “trust crisis” surrounding the company’s flagship electric car.

The newly introduced modification attempts to address that problem directly.

With the added vanes installed, airflow entering the front grille can now be redirected through the hood ducts. The system activates when the vehicle enters Track Mode or when speeds exceed 150 kilometers per hour.

The goal is to increase aerodynamic downforce, helping keep the car more firmly planted on the road during aggressive driving.

Xiaomi acknowledges there is a small compromise.

Because the aerodynamic system interacts with the car’s airflow management, it can slightly increase energy consumption when active. That means the driving range may be marginally reduced during high-speed performance use.

Under Chinese testing standards, the standard SU7 Ultra is rated for more than 600 kilometers of range.

The car itself remains one of the most powerful electric vehicles produced by a new entrant in the automotive industry.

The SU7 Ultra uses three electric motors producing a combined 1,138 kilowatts, roughly equivalent to 1,526 horsepower. The vehicle also relies on a high-performance battery developed by CATL to withstand repeated track driving.

Xiaomi originally positioned the model as a rival to high-end electric performance cars such as the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT and the Zeekr 001 FR.

Yet sales have been modest.

Reports from January 2026 suggested only 45 units of the SU7 Ultra had been sold that month. Xiaomi had already reduced the expected price significantly, lowering it from earlier projections of around RMB 814,900 to a final price of RMB 529,900.

For now, the free hardware update signals a clear effort to rebuild confidence among early buyers.

Inside Xiaomi, the approach appears familiar. In the smartphone world, problems are often corrected through updates after launch.

With the SU7 Ultra, the company is effectively applying the same philosophy to a car.

Whether that strategy will fully restore confidence among performance-focused customers remains to be seen, but the company has made it clear that the issue is not being ignored.