Xiaomi’s YU7 Electric SUV Shatters Records: 300,000 Orders in Just 60 Minutes!
Xiaomi's electric vehicle gamble pays off—big time.
The tech giant's new YU7 SUV just pulled a Tesla-level demand shocker, racking up nearly 300,000 orders before most buyers finished their morning coffee. Move over, legacy automakers—there's a new disruptor in town.
Why the frenzy?
Chinese consumers are voting with their wallets, betting Xiaomi's smartphone savvy translates to EV dominance. The specs? Still under wraps. The hype? Already at moon-shot levels.
Wall Street analysts are scrambling to adjust forecasts—when a smartphone company outpaces traditional OEMs on day one, someone's spreadsheet just got very wrong. (Cue the usual 'this changes everything' analyst notes that’ll be obsolete by Q3 earnings.)
One thing's clear: in the race to electrify, software-defined vehicles just got a major new player. And for investors who thought EV mania peaked in 2023? That sound you hear is another short position getting liquidated.
Xiaomi receives 300,000 YU7 orders on launch day
Xiaomi’s SUV isn’t just a cheaper alternative to the Model Y. Analysts have praised the vehicle’s strong specs and stated that its local brand power and integration with Xiaomi’s digital ecosystem make it uniquely positioned to disrupt the current market dynamic.
“The new Xiaomi is probably Tesla’s largest threat so far, not only in China but globally. It’s very competitive and appealing,” Felipe Muoz, the global analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a statement to Business Insider.
According to Bill Russo, the CEO of the Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility, Xiaomi isn’t just selling cars.
“They’re not just an EV company,” Russo told Bloomberg TV. “They’re creating a fully integrated digital ecosystem… which resonates very, very well in China, the world’s biggest digital economy.”
The firm’s “smartphone mindset” positions these vehicles as extensions of the tech products Xiaomi users already know. With over 600 million Xiaomi smart devices currently in use around the globe, the company has a unique advantage in syncing its car offerings with its other consumer electronics.
“They recognize this opportunity, they entered it, and in one year with one model, they’re outselling Tesla in China,” Russo added.
The first model of the electronic vehicle, the SU7 launched in 2024, and was widely praised. Ford’s CEO described it as “fantastic,” and Business Insider reported that it “shouldn’t drive this well given it’s from a company that had not produced vehicles before.”
Tesla endures sales drops across different markets
Xiaomi’s YU7 launch coincides with Tesla’s ongoing rough patch in the Chinese market. Between January and May of 2025, Tesla’s battery electric vehicle sales in the country dropped a staggering 18% year-over-year, according to a Shanghai-based automotive consultancy called ThinkerCar.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s stock is up 72% year-to-date. BYD also recorded 894,000 EV sales globally during the same period, compared to Tesla’s 603,000. The 291,000 sales deficit is quite significant, as both companies had been in a neck-and-neck global EV race.
BYD also overtook Tesla in global revenue in 2024, pulling in $107B, surpassing Tesla’s $97.7B. In April 2025, BYD outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time, with 7,230 battery-electric vehicles sold while Tesla recorded 7,165 sold, according to data compiled by JATO Dynamics.
Analyst Felipe Muoz noted that Tesla’s older car models, especially the Model Y, is part of the company’s problem.
“It’s about time to get an all-new generation,” Muoz said. “But based on Tesla’s strategy with other models, it doesn’t seem like an all-new Model Y is coming anytime soon.”
“The YU7 is one of many strong new entrants, but it won’t mean the defeat of Tesla,” he said. “It will complicate life, but Tesla has already built a reputation for excellent EVs and is a pioneer in the EV industry.”
He added that while Tesla still leads on battery specs and software in the U.S. and Europe, it is losing ground fast in China. Russo also suggested that Tesla’s software lead is no longer enough in China.
Several media outlets also reported on Thursday that Omead Afshar, Tesla’s VP of Manufacturing and a longtime Elon Musk ally, left the company. Prior to Afshar’s exit, the company also lost another talent as Milan Kovac, who led Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot project, left.
“The dismissal of Afshar is part of the game and Tesla’s response to the increasing challenges in China, considering that it can’t react fast from a product point of view,” Muoz commented. “The Model Y is still one of China’s top sellers, but it is not alone anymore.”
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