The 500,000th car came just 602 days after Xiaomi first started building cars in the first place.
While the brand may still be more synonymous with phones and power banks, a Xiaomi car might soon be just as common a sight on the road. Such is as this newbie Chinese automaker has just rolled its 500,000th vehicle off the production line, impressively achieving this milestone a mere 602 days after it began building cars in the first place.
The celebratory half-millionth unit is to be a YU7 Max, finished in Emerald Green and specced with the optional carbon fibre exterior package and 20-inch wheels. What is perhaps the more amusing fact here is that the time it took Xiaomi to build 500,000 cars is almost shorter than the wait to receive one, with delivery times for the e-SUV in China reportedly stretching up to 62 weeks.
As for those still catching up on Xiaomi’s automotive ambitions meanwhile, the consumer electronics giant first entered the car game in March 2024 with the launch of the SU7. This fully electric fastback certainly made a sizeable splash upon arrival, not least because it delivered Taycan-rivalling performance (and looks) at something a lot closer to a Model 3 price point.
In fact, the flagship Ultra trim has been touted by Xiaomi as essentially a road-legal four-door race car. Its triple-motor system churns out a monstrous 1,548 PS (1,139 kW), resulting in a 0–100 km/h sprint of just under 2 seconds and, even more impressively, a four-door lap record at the Nürburgring of 6:46.874.
A little while later came the aforementioned YU7, Xiaomi’s direct crack at Tesla’s ever-popular Model Y. And true to form, this e-SUV also packs its fair share of punch: the current Max trim delivers 691 PS and 866 Nm, good for a 0–100 km/h time of 3.23 seconds.
But while the cars are quick, Xiaomi’s production ramp-up is arguably even quicker. The tech giant’s automotive division is currently punching out over 350,000 vehicles annually from its sole Beijing plant, with plans to deliver more than 400,000 units by end-2025.
It is nevertheless worth pointing out that all these many Xiaomi cars remain exclusive to China for now. Global expansion is on the cards though, with the automaker targeting 2027 to kick off international sales. Europe looks to be the first frontier, with right-hand-drive Malaysia unfortunately likely a fair way down the list.
That said, Xiaomi did showcase its SU7 at KLCC late last year (even if it was part of a publicity stunt for its then-new 14T smartphone series). And if a suitably enterprising distributor steps up, we might well see more than just their consumer electronics on Malaysian shores before too long.
