Chinese tech company Xiaomi has launched its first electric SUV, the YU7, with 240,000 orders placed in the first 18 hours – and hundreds of thousands within minutes.
Hundreds of thousands of orders were placed for what is only the second car from Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi hours after it launched.
Car News China reports 240,000 orders for the Tesla Model Y-rivalling Xiaomi YU7 were "locked-in" 18 hours after its launch, with Xiaomi claiming it received 200,000 refundable orders within three minutes of its launch, and 289,000 within an hour.
Xiaomi has offered three ways to order the YU7 in China: a pre-order which turns into a firm order after seven days, an instant and non-refundable order with a chosen configuration, or a now-sold-out "priority delivery" order to receive a vehicle ahead of others in the queue.
It follows the launch of its SU7 sedan in early 2024, which has since recorded more than 200,000 deliveries – despite being the consumer electronics brand's first-ever vehicle.
The Xiaomi YU7 was formally unveiled in May with a similar design to the SU7 sedan, along with inspiration from SUVs such as the Porsche Macan and Ferrari Purosangue.
It is available with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system for a combined 288kW and 528Nm, along with an entry-level single-motor rear-wheel-drive variant.
Driving range on the CLTC lab-test standard is rated at 835 kilometres for the rear-wheel-drive Standard variant with a 96.3kWh battery pack.
The all-wheel-drive Pro variant retains the Standard's battery with a 760km driving range rating, while the flagship Max upgrades to a 101.7kWh battery for a 770km claimed range.
In China, the Xiaomi YU7 starts from 253,500 yuan ($AU54,000) for the single-motor base variant, undercutting the most affordable Tesla Model Y by 10,000 yuan ($AU2000).
Xiaomi – one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in China – has confirmed it intends to expand to 'global markets' in the coming years, with a goal to open as many as 10,000 stores outside of China by 2029.
"I cannot share too many details, but I am so excited to tell our global users that Xiaomi will be releasing EVs [electric vehicles] for sale in global markets within the next few years," Xiaomi CEO William Lu said in March 2025.
Australian sales are yet to be confirmed for the vehicle.
"I don’t like talking about the competition so much but I drive the Xiaomi – we flew one from Shanghai to Chicago and I’ve been driving it for six months now, and I don’t want to give it up," Farley said.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
