Xiaomi News

Surely, you'd think there's no more room in Australia's market for more Chinese brands, but we think these ones would still have a place.

I know what you're thinking. Surely we don't need any more Chinese cars, but you'd better bet some of the best ones still aren't in Australia.

This new electric SUV has just handed Tesla a large defeat.

It’s one of those under the table automotive dark arts everyone knows is an industry norm but is rarely spoken about publicly.But Xiaomi Founder and CEO Lei Jun hasn’t held back in describing his company’s detailed analysis of the Tesla Model Y during development of the brand’s YU7 EV SUV.This week, while delivering his annual speech at the Beijing National Convention Centre, Mr Jun confirmed the Xiaomi engineering team had acquired not one but three Tesla Model Ys for the express purpose of disassembly and forensic analysis of every component. And it’s a safe bet the Model 3 underwent a similar breakdown process as part of the Xiaomi SU7 sedan’s production program.Showing multiple side-by-side comparison slides of the YU7 and Model Y Mr Jun said, “We bought three Model Ys at the start of this year, disassembling the parts one by one, and studied every component, one at a time.”And in the face of massive supply shortages resulting from a huge order backlog for the recently released YU7, Mr Lei was effusive in his praise for Tesla's top-selling model and encouraged prospective Xiaomi buyers to consider it. “If you don’t choose YU7, you can consider Model Y. I’m not criticizing the Model Y. The Model Y is a very, very outstanding car,” he said.Within 18 hours of the YU7’s mid-year launch, Xiaomi said it had received around 240,000 orders, with the waiting list quickly pushing out to as much as 12 months. On social media Jun has also recommended the Xpeng G7 and Li Auto i8 as worthwhile YU7 alternatives. Already established as a large-scale global consumer electronics maker and software developer (it’s currently the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer), Xiaomi unveiled the single- and dual-motor SU7 EV sedan in 2024, with the YU7 SUV following this year.The tri-motor SU7 Ultra, currently the fastest EV around the Nurburgring Nordschleife and claimed to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 2.0 seconds, was recently spotted exiting Ferrari’s Maranello HQ, sparking speculation it’s being benchmarked in the development of the Prancing Horse’s upcoming pure-electric model.And a similarly focused version of the YU7, likely to be called YU7 GT, is expected soon, with a heavily camouflaged version of the car already spotted circulating on the famous German road circuit.   

Xiaomi YU7 will gain performance variant - here's what we know with a first look thanks to renders.

New Chinese carmakers such as Xiaomi, Xpeng and Nio are leaving established manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan and Mazda behind when it comes to technology a new report has found, leaving doubts about whether the traditional players can ever catch up.

China's most hyped automaker sets its sights on export markets.

The next-generation XPeng P7 has debuted in China, with enviable specifications to put an end to range anxiety.

The mighty Ferrari is benchmarking its newest supercar against a Chinese upstart.A Xiaomi SU7 Ultra was seen leaving the Prancing Horse’s headquarters in Maranello.Ferrari bought the high-performance electric car for testing and development purposes as it prepares its first electric car next year, according to reports.The SU7 Ultra is the flagship vehicle from Chinese smartphone producer turned carmaker Xiaomi.It is the fastest electric car around the Nurburgring and delivers a bonkers amount of grunt.The SU7 Ultra uses three electric motors to make an insane 1138kW, which is about the same as 10 Toyota Corollas combined and more than the quad-turbocharged W16 engine from the Bugatti Chiron.  Those outputs are good enough to catapult it to 100km/h from a standstill in blistering 1.97 seconds on the way to a top speed of 350km/h.The SU7 Ultra weighs 1900kg, which makes it a relative lightweight by performance electric car standards and means it tips the scale at about 400kg less than the Taycan Turbo S.It’s a seriously impressive machine on paper, and one of the world’s most intense car makers has taken notice.The Italian supercar firm is in the final stages of developing its first electric car, which it will unveil on October 9 this year.If it is to be a proper Ferrari it’ll need to be better than the competition, and the most advanced electric cars are from China.Details of the electric car are scarce, but we do know that it will make an “authentic noise”, according to CEO Benedetto Vigna.A previous report by Reuters speculated its price tag could be as high as €500,000 (A$886,900), although this hasn’t been confirmed directly by Ferrari.Ferrari is slowly transitioning to low-emissions power, with models such as the plug-in hybrid GTS 296, GTB 296 and SF90 Stradale, making up 51 per cent of its sales in 2024.The company has no plans to ditch V12-power from its range until it is forced to by various governments.Meanwhile Xiaomi's SU7 sedan and new YU7 SUV have set the Chinese market on fire, with hundreds of thousands of orders well exceeding the electric upstart's capacity to fill demand.