For about a decade now, we've heard that electric vehicles will unlock a future where cars are more like "smartphones on wheels" than anything else. But very few companies have actually pulled that idea off, when you stop to think about it.
Truly software-defined vehicles are few and far between in the U.S. and European markets. Tesla obviously pioneered the field with deep smartphone connectivity and over-the-air updates. Rivian is now following closely behind, and so are a few other players like Polestar and Volvo. But by and large, traditional automakers and even many startups have struggled to deliver truly digitized and connected vehicles; even Apple threw in the towel after billions spent and a decade of trying.
That's why what Xiaomi is doing is such a shock to the system. The Chinese smartphone and electronics giant has only been around since 2010, and now it's making cars. Its first, the SU7 sedan, is out there breaking sales records and keeping Porsche awake at night with its Nürburgring records.
Now it's aiming for even more mass appeal with the new Xiaomi YU7 crossover, launching in China and aimed directly at the Tesla Model Y's waning dominance. Our own Kevin Williams went over to Beijing recently to check it out, and he reports that he gets why these cars have so much hype behind them.
Gallery: Xiaomi YU7 Review
You may have read Kevin's First Drive review earlier this week. Now, you can watch his video test of the YU7 as well. It proves, yet again, that China's auto industry is running away with the playbook Tesla wrote.
"I know they've benchmarked the Tesla Model Y, but also the gas and electric versions of the Porsche Macan and the Porsche Cayenne, and it really shows here," Kevin says. "It's really sophisticated. And it's really impressive considering the fact that, you know, this is their second car ever."
As a quick recap, the YU7 Kevin tests here is powered by a 101 kilowatt-hour battery pack and rated at 519 miles of range on China's CLTC testing cycle (about 360 miles on the U.S. EPA cycle, more or less.) It'll fast-charge from 10% to 80% in 12 minutes, do zero to 60 mph in 2.98 seconds, and costs around $47,000. That's for the top-shelf Max version, too; the YU7's base price will be around $35,000 in China, so it undercuts the updated Model Y in just about every area.
And what Kevin finds is that the YU7 is athletic and balanced, unlike some of China's other EVs, which rely on pure power alone for performance but don't always have the brakes or suspension to back it up. (I experienced some of this on my trip to China, too.) "Being able to engineer a car that can both ride well and handle well is not easy. And so far, from what I've seen, the YU7 can do that pretty easily," Kevin says.
So even by China's high standards, the YU7 seems like something special. No wonder it's essentially sold out through 2027. That's also the year that Xiaomi hopes to start exporting cars outside of China. It hasn't said yet whether it'll be the YU7 or something else, and our best guess is that the European market is up first.
That means every automaker should be paying attention here—and slowing down on EVs won't be an option.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
