In China to see the Xiaomi SU7 and YU7

As I stood on the corner of a street in Beijing, diligently saying ‘Ni Hao’, Mandarin for “hello” and bowing my head to the ice-cream vendor (because I thought it was culturally relevant), something dawned upon me. This is the first country where I can’t recognise most of the cars on the road. The Hondas and Toyotas are recognisable as their products are the same across the world. The BMWs, Audis, Mercs and Porsches are also recognisable, albeit with more space between most of their wheels. Many cars on the road sport unfamiliar badges like Arcfox, AITO, Luxeed, and iCar – brands yet to venture beyond China. Though it’s fun to look for the (famed) similarities in car designs from some global cars. Take the iCar V23, for instance: its naming style and design (search it online) feel duplicated. Beyond the badges, these cars reflect a distinct approach to automotive functionality. Technological integration into cars is an essential aspect of mobility there, and Chinese tech companies have opened up a new perspective of what an automobile needs to be. Xiaomi is a company that has not only dipped its toes in the automotive space, but is already making waves by shattering top speed records set by established players in the field. 

One of the most popularly known tech brands from China is Xiaomi. In India, you may know of the brand for its phones, TVs, air purifiers and the likes. What you may not know is that the brand was founded in 2010 and today they are manufacturers of over 700 products under several categories. Entering a Xiaomi store seems like entering Amazon.com, except with only Xiaomi products. Xiaomi seems to make everything from an air conditioner to a nail cutter. But back in 2021, they announced their intention to enter a new (and probably most ambitious) category – cars. By December 2023 their first car, the SU7 went into production and four months later it went on sale in China. This year they unveiled their second car – the YU7 SUV. That’s two electric cars from intent to sale within four years. Because we look up to the European countries for their car production process (especially Germany), this timeline confused me. “Are they badly made?”, “have they been tested enough?” Of course I forgot one thing. This is China, the manufacturing hub and the innovator of the world.

Human x Car x Home

Before we go about understanding the actual car, let’s understand Xiaomi’s approach to making it. Being a tech company, it may be expected that Xiaomi’s cars are well endowed in that department. And they are, with cool innovations like retrofit buttons around the screen if you aren’t a fan of touchscreens, in-car projector for an outdoor movie night, etc. But instead they recognised that cars are not only a mode of going from point A to B with usable tech, but also a touchpoint which people interact with, just like all of their other gadgets and appliances. They all have the Xiaomi HyperOS as the foundation and the ecosystem is called “Human x Car x Home”. It connects your personal devices, smart home products and your car into a central software to offer a seamless user experience between all of them. You leave your office knowing you will take 30 minutes to reach home. Use your Xiaomi car to turn on the rice maker so your dinner is ready by the time you reach home. Xiaomi claims to have over 200 connected product categories under the ecosystem to cover over 95 per cent of a user’s life scenarios. In their imagination the car is an extension of all your gadgets, with wheels.

Xiaomi SU7 and YU7 – what are these cars like?

If you have no previous awareness of what the Xiaomi cars are, you are probably expecting a commuter sedan or an SUV which prides itself in being “smart” and “connected”. It isn’t. At the top of the line is something called the SU7 Ultra. It comes with a triple-motor setup; makes 1548bhp and 1770Nm; does 0-100kmph in just under 2 seconds, and can be bought from a Xiaomi store. Right next to that nailcutter. They then developed a SU7 Ultra Prototype with one purpose – to achieve the fastest lap time possible on the Nurburgring. It clocked 6.22.091. That’s faster than a Lotus Evija X, all sorts of Porsche 911s and even the Mercedes-AMG One. It in fact stands third on the list of non-series cars to go around the “Green Hell”.

There are also less neck-breaking variants which normal people can drive around in for their daily chores. Both cars have a variant called Max which makes 664bhp (in SU7) and 680bhp (in YU7) and sprints to 100kmph in 2.78 and 3 seconds respectively. Both cars also have variants with lesser power (least being 291bhp) and battery to be able to cater to a larger audience.

This is a good time to come back to my earlier apprehension regarding the build quality. Although we didn't have the opportunity to drive them, our time with the cars revealed a strong sense of quality and craftsmanship. The panel gaps are consistent and all the fittings are well finished. And they have to be. Some variants of the SU7 rival well established cars like Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S whereas the YU7 takes on the likes of Porsche Macan EV and Tesla Model Y. When Xiaomi announced its intent to make cars, they put in a 10 billion Yuan ($1.4 billion / over ₹10,500 crore) investment. Part of that investment yielded the Xiaomi EV factory. In this factory one car is finished every 76 seconds. This is achieved with the help of 95 autonomous robots and 400 autonomous robot arms. Only 9 per cent of the manufacturing process involves humans. This along with other process efficiencies allow Xiaomi to achieve a high standard of production and further economies of scale. A YU7 Max, for instance, is available for under the equivalent of ₹40 lakh (ex-showroom). May I remind you right now that this is a 680bhp car.

Special focus has been given to ensure that the cars are comfortable and practical as well. This is evidenced by the seats’ ergonomics, usage of premium materials like Nappa leather and Alcantara, the acoustic glazing to cut noise, cabin layout maximised for space, independent and adaptive suspension all round. This is in line with what the Chinese consumer desires – everything in one package while being value-focussed. Which is why the YU7 got over 2 lakh orders within the first hour of its price announcement. Something tells me that the Chinese companies will have an easier time understanding Indian consumers than the European manufacturers.

All this is great, but…

Xiaomi cars are not coming to India. Not yet at least. Xiaomi is solely focussed on their domestic market and wants to research well about other markets and their needs. But the simple fact that we are invited to their launch event in Beijing is a sign that the company wants more word going out about their cars in other countries. Recently it was announced that Xiaomi might start their international market foray in 2027. Though they are likely to begin with the USA or the European markets. For now we can only wait and see how the trade between India and China evolves in the near future to speculate the timeline of Xiaomi cars coming here. Until then, expect to see more of the “smart” and “connected” philosophy of making cars being adopted by brands around the world.