Chinese electronics company Xiaomi received over 289,000 pre-orders for its YU7 SUV within one hour, as it moves further into the auto industry.
The YU7 will be Xiaomi’s first battery electric SUV, and is its second ever vehicle after 2024’s SU7 sedan. Xiaomi is the world’s third-largest smartphone maker by market share, and also produces televisions, computers, and smart home devices.
“My goodness, in just two minutes, we received 196,000 paid pre-orders and 128,000 lock-in orders," said Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. “We may be witnessing a miracle in China's automotive industry.”
Xiaomi’s YU7 is priced from CN¥253,500 (A$54,000). The vehicle “is positioned as a high-performance luxury SUV that aims to redefine luxury through advanced design, technology, driving experience, and safety,” according to Xiaomi.
Its Standard rear-wheel drive version includes 835 kilometres of range with a 96.3 kilowatt hour battery, and can charge from 10% to 80% in 12 minutes. The YU7 is also available in Pro and Max all-wheel drive variants.
Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling battery electric vehicle in China last year, followed by the BYD Seagull and Yuan Plus. The Model Y’s lead has shrunk in recent years, however, dropping by around 82,000 units from 2023 to 2024.
Xiaomi agreed to cooperate with a police investigation after its first publicly-reported fatal crash took place in March, where three were killed after an SU7 collided with a concrete barrier post. The company said the vehicle had been operating in an autopilot driver assistance mode when it approached a construction zone at 116 kilometres per hour.
Xiaomi’s (HKG: 1810) share price was HK$59.80 at time of writing, up from its previous close at $58.95. Its market capitalisation is $1.55 trillion.
