Hi dataportl community!
I started today expecting more appliances and ended up reading about a car. Xiaomi used IFA to confirm what a lot of people already suspected, they're bringing the SU7 to Germany officially in 2027, and they've already signed letters of intent with eight major German dealer groups to get the network in place. Big move.
The SU7 gets compared to the Porsche Taycan constantly, and once you actually see the proportions side by side it's not hard to see why. Nearly five metres long, three metre wheelbase, up to 690PS on the all-wheel-drive Max version, 0-100 in about three seconds. On paper it doesn't need to hide from the Porsche at all, and the Porsche costs a lot more. Meanwhile Taycan sales have dropped off a cliff, roughly 41,000 units in 2023 down to just over 16,000 in 2025, with reports Porsche might wind Taycan production down entirely by 2030. Interesting timing for Xiaomi to be walking through the front door right as that happens.
Anyway. Coffee!
There's been a proper surge in coffee machines this year, and one bit that caught me off guard was the on-the-go category. Portable machines that do both fresh grounds and pods, a bit like an Aeropress crossed with a pocket-sized Nespresso. Genuinely didn't expect to see that at this scale, but there they were, multiple brands, all fighting for the same little slice of "I want a real coffee but I'm not near a kitchen."
(I want to take this chance to give a special shout out to Briel, their design of a coffee machine was by far and away my favourite this show. Expect more content around them in the future)
Bigger picture though, the real shift is coffee moving back toward bean rather than pod. Bean-to-cup is having a proper moment, and what's interesting is it's not really being driven by big leaps in technology anymore. It's design. Finish, footprint, how it looks sitting on your counter, that kind of thing.
Which, honestly, I don't mind. Everyone at this show is stuffing AI into absolutely everything they can get their hands on, fridges, mirrors, toothbrushes, you name it. Coffee is one place I'd quite like to keep AI out of. Some things should just make a coffee and mind their business.
That's the third and final day done. Feet are wrecked, I've booked myself in to see a physio, and I am very much putting them up for the rest of the evening.
Strategic Takeaway
dataportl is currently in the process of updating our data across a range of equipment markets. If any of the our 200+ equipments covered are relevant to your business, or you'd simply like to compare notes on where the category's heading, we'd love to talk. Reach out to me directly to set up a discussion.