About Xiaomi
Plenty of tech companies have talked about building cars. Xiaomi actually did it, and quickly. The Beijing electronics giant, founded in 2010 by Lei Jun and famous for phones, rice cookers and scooters, announced its move into electric vehicles in 2021 and launched its first car, the SU7 sedan, in March 2024. Orders poured in on the first day, and within a short time Xiaomi was delivering cars by the tens of thousands each month from its own factory in Beijing, a pace that left established carmakers rattled.
The SU7, a sleek four-door often compared to the Porsche Taycan in looks, was followed by the SU7 Ultra, a tri-motor performance version with well over 1,500 horsepower that set fast laps at the Nürburgring, and by the YU7, a midsize SUV whose debut set off another frenzy of orders. Xiaomi's pitch is the seamless link between car, phone and smart home, plus prices that undercut Tesla. The company has faced hard questions too, notably after a fatal crash involving its driver-assistance system, and over door handles and marketing claims.
Xiaomi sells its cars in China, where it competes with Tesla, BYD, XPeng, Nio, Li Auto and Huawei-backed brands, and it has signaled plans to sell abroad, with Europe a likely first destination. Its car business has grown quickly into a meaningful part of the company, swinging between losses and profit as it scales. New models, including larger SUVs and a refreshed SU7, keep arriving, along with sales milestones and factory expansions, and the company has proved remarkably good at turning each launch into a national event.
Coverage follows Xiaomi's monthly deliveries and quarterly results, new model launches, order stampedes and waiting lists, crash investigations and recalls, regulatory changes such as China's crackdown on hidden door handles and huge screens, and the company's driver-assistance ambitions. Few carmakers make news as often or as loudly, and few divide opinion so sharply between admirers who see the future of the car and skeptics who see a phone company moving too fast. Both camps will find plenty to argue about here.