Xiaomi revealed the Yu7, the first electric SUV in Beijing, on May 22, 2025, and said its full launch will take place in July.
Adek Berry | AFP | Getty Images
Beijing – China’s Xiaomi, known for its smartphones, has recently entered the electric vehicle space. Currently, they are aiming for Tesla’s bestselling cars in China.
Less than a year after firing the first electric vehicle, Xiaomi revealed the Yu7 SUV late Thursday, claiming it had a driving range of at least 760 kilometers (472 miles) on a single charge.
This is well above the 719 km advertised in Tesla’s extended range model Y. Operating range has been a selling point for consumers who are worried about frequent battery charging.
“We expect the Yu7 to significantly erode the Chinese market share of the Tesla model,” City analyst Jeff Chong said in a report on Sunday.
City is forecasting monthly sales of around 30,000 units, with Yu7 priced between around 250,000 yuan and 320,000 yuan ($34,700 to $44,420). Once sales are collected, Citi predicts annual sales of 300,000-360,000 units.
Its price range pits the Yu7 against Tesla’s Model Y, starting at 263,500 yuan in China. Xiaomi plans to announce the price of the Yu7 with its official car launch in July.
Xiaomi plans to announce the price of the Yu7 with its official car launch in July.
Tesla’s Model Y was China’s second-largest energy vehicle in six months from April to April, according to Autohome, an online platform for consumer information about Chinese cars. BYD’s much cheaper Segal was ranked first, but the Hongguang Mini on the budget ranked third.
In April alone, Geely’s Geale’s Geome Xingyuan tops the list of new energy vehicles bestsellers, followed by BYD’s Segal and Wooling Hong Guang Mini, shown by Autohome data. Xiaomi’s Su7 Sedan ranked fourth and three times followed, while Tesla’s Model Y ranked eighth.
Is it better than the first Xiaomi car?
The Yu7 is positioned as a “luxurious SUV” and its sales could be better than the SU7’s sales. Elinor Leung, managing director of CLSA’s Asia Telecom and Internet Research, said in a memo.
Last year, Xiaomi released its first electric vehicle, the Su7 sedan, priced at $4,000 less than the Tesla Model 3 at the time. Tesla has since reduced the price of the Model 3 to 235,500 yuan as of May 26th, but is more expensive than the 215,900 yuan SU7 sedan.
Xiaomi delivered more than 28,000 SU7 cars in April, up from more than 29,000 records in the previous month to over 28,000 SU7 cars. That’s after three people died after a crash in China, a SU7 vehicle crashed. China has since required car manufacturers to be aware of language when advertising driver assist systems.
Xiaomi revealed the Yu7 on Thursday at the end of the premium phone launch event, using a new chip that claimed to have beaten Apple with certain metrics. CNBC was unable to independently verify the claims.
Rival electric car company XPENG is planning to release the largest version of its relatively popular Mona M03 car. The MAX version includes more advanced driver assist features. The company previously said Max would begin deliveries after the New Year holidays in February.
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