The Xiaomi SU7 Made Me Understand How Xiaomi Conquered China
The updated SU7 Sedan is great, and the way it got here should strike fear in the hearts of every global auto manufacturer.
The location is just outside of Beijing, at Xiaomi’s latest factory to build its flagship phones. Inside the factory, the room was quiet, save for the hum of a lot of machines, most of them with Xiaomi’s square-shaped yellow “Mi” logo on the front of them. They’re moving back and forth, tossing the backside of phone bodies and internals from one station to the next, to and fro, at least four at a time, every 10 seconds.
There are very few people in the room, glaringly so. A handful of workers place phones into boxes. Others do quality assurance, checking to see that screens work and there are no visible defects. One worker in a pink dust-proof suit troubleshoots a machine that broke down on our tour, but the noises in the factory are those of machinery. These machines, many of them self-developed and made by Xiaomi itself, automate the hyper-technical, very specialized screwing and connecting that goes into creating a phone, like the tight soldering and circuit work that aren’t easy for most humans to do. It wasn’t just a feeling, either; Xiaomi’s plant manager explained that the whole plant was 83% automated. The plant manager said that the factory is on average, capable of churning out one phone every six seconds.
It’s that level of cleverness and smart thinking that made me understand just exactly how Xiaomi’s car line had come to dominate China’s car market, and why it’s such a threat to the rest of the world. My time with Xiaomi’s R&D facility, the hypercar-rivaling SU7 Ultra, and its updated SU7 sedan show how this brand really has its sights set on the world.
(Full Disclosure: Xiaomi and Geely covered my travel for the Beijing for the Auto Show and provided lodging and test cars)
“Everything we make, we think to ourselves, is it cool enough?” said VP and CMO of Xiaomi, Xu Fei, at a tour of Xiaomi’s R&D facility in the greater Beijing Area. According to Fei, the brand’s designers and engineers are supposed to ask this question constantly through the development of its devices. The goal is to get Xiaomi’s product line at the heart of what young people want from big tech: devices that are clever and on the cutting edge of technology.
Whether it’s smartphones with cameras that make your DSLR redundant, or smart audio glasses that let you listen to music or record audio without the need for earphones, all made with an impeccable attention to detail and with design that rivals Apple’s ability to make nearly every device look like a high-fashion item. Even the marketing radiates “cool”; actress beloved Shu Qi is the spokesperson for the SU7; not only does her wide appeal in China lend credibility to the car’s style, but her name mimics the name of the product. (Shu Qi and SU7 are pronounced extremely similarly in Mandarin Chinese.)
Xiaomi’s brand perception in China skews younger; its products are marketed to young 20-somethings with more money to upgrade out of bargain-basement brands, but aren’t necessarily settled in their lives. These customers are unafraid of technology and want a premium experience, but aren’t necessarily affluent. So, whatever Xiaomi makes has to hit a wide variety of points to be palatable to its huge consumer base. From my experience with Xiaomi’s product line, it’s really good at knowing who its clientele is and just what they’re looking for. The tech (and car) products I’ve had experience with feel “cool”, but well-made and practical. The brand delivers interesting devices that work just as well as those of big tech companies like Sony or Apple, but undercut those types of brands in price.
Certainly, the flagship Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition would get me out of my iPhone if it were sold in the U.S. Its $1,400 (China market) price tag would make me feel like I’m getting a great deal compared to an equivalent iPhone 17 Pro, which is roughly priced the same in China. The camera performance of the Xiaomi really is that damn good, it could replace my real full-sized DSLR camera I use for work.
Similarly, I think that coolness-on-a-budget is why its cars look the way they do, and come jam-packed with the features they have. Like, sure, the SU7 and YU7 might resemble some Italian, British, or German car designs we’ve seen elsewhere, but they’re still really damn cool. Even on China’s roads, where the SU7 sedan is ubiquitous, the car’s low-slung dimensions and available bright-colored hues stand out in a sea of white-goods BYD or BAIC sedans of about the same size and price.
Gallery: Xiaomi SU7 First Drive (2026)
Oh, right, I should talk about the car now, huh?
Xiaomi flew a gaggle of journalists to Beijing during this year’s Beijing auto show to drive both its facelifted SU7 sedan and the SU7 Ultra, a car that, in prototype form, is the fastest four-door car to ever lap the Nurburgring. Whether you’ve seen the car in person or not, you’ve likely heard both it and its Ultra variant in the news all around the globe. The SU7 sedan has had a very long waitlist, and is a critical darling inside and outside of China.
Flying in American and European journalists to try it out was a huge deal for Xiaomi. For starters, Xiaomi has announced its intent to enter European markets. It’s gone as far as opening a new European R&D center, poaching big talent from brands like BMW and Lamborghini. Xiaomi isn’t saying what cars it’ll bring to Europe, but it’s pretty obvious that it’ll likely be its full line of models. Thus, they’re eager to see what Westerners think before the brand tries to take Europe by storm in the same way that they did China.
With that in mind, Xiaomi gave me two days with its cars. My test included dynamic driving both the SU7 and SU7 Ultra in high-speed dynamic driving environments (including a track session with the SU7 Ultra), and a full day with the updated SU7 on a varying number of Chinese roads. I have a full piece coming on the Ultra, but for now let’s talk about the mainstream, volume-selling SU7.
Here’s a little spoiler alert: I understand why it attracted the seemingly jealous admiration of Ford’s CEO Jim Farley, who famously said he “didn’t want to give it back” after driving it for competitive analysis. Because after a day with the car, I didn’t want to give it back, either.
The Xiaomi SU7 has been on sale since 2024, but early this year, the company announced a “second generation”. I think by most Western standards, calling the updated SU7 a full-on new generation is a stretch, because it’s essentially a facelift of the initial car from 2024. The two cars look very similar, but there are alterations to the car’s structure, and the company retuned the car’s chassis and suspension to make it that much better than before.
For example, the tires are now staggered (wider in the rear) instead of square (equal on all four corners), which should improve handling and stability, especially for the higher-powered SU7 Max version. The old SU7’s roof featured a singular piece of glass across the ceiling, but this is now bisected by a support beam, which is part of the car’s stiffer structure. All except the base trim now get CDC (Continuous damping control) and adjustable air suspension. The car now has LIDAR and a standard 800-volt (or higher) electrical architecture on all trims. It charges faster, while going further than the old car. The interior is said to be nicer, too.
For my test, all of the SU7s I had access to during my dynamic drive and on-street test were in the top-of-the-line Max trim. (The full-on track-ready Ultra cars are technically above the Max, but made for hardcore driving enthusiasts, so this is the most luxurious trim.) Save for color or wheel choice, all of the cars were motivated by the same 680-horsepower dual motor setup, fed by a 101.7 kWh battery. Interestingly, while the base Standard and mid-trim Pro trims use a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery, the Max trim uses nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) chemistry.
This larger battery does use a 897-volt architecture (compared to 752-volt on the lower trims), and has a quicker max charging power of 530 kW, up from the 235 kW of the lower-trimmed cars. Pricing for the Max starts at just shy of $50,000 (at today’s conversion rates). The units I drove were closer to $53,000, due to interior and exterior color choices, wheel and tire packages, and some addons from the Xiaomi store, like the row of customizable buttons that clip into the bottom of the touch screen.
Now, I have no real point of reference to compare the old SU7 to the updated one, but I have plenty of Chinese EV sedans to compare it to, as well as the YU7 sister crossover, which shares a lot under the skin with this car. I’ve talked about the engineering behind Xiaomi’s cars before; some may say that the Porsche-aping styling means it’s a total clone of a Taycan or Panamera underneath, but that’s not really true at all.
For starters, unlike the Taycan or Panamera, the SU7 feels spacious. No matter which seat in the house you choose, the SU7’s legroom is admirable, no doubt due to its 118.1-inch wheelbase. It’s hard to find a direct 1-to-1 comparison between the two cars; some numbers suggest the two cars have identical legroom on paper, but it is hard to figure out whether they’re measured using the same methodology. Still, the SU7 feels less confining, with more light in the cabin and a flat floor compared to the comparative prison-like rear quarters of a Taycan. It’s easy to see why this thing sells so strongly in a market that values interior space.
In fact, the whole interior is just really swell. Like its YU7 sister car, the level of soft touch materials, tight finishes with very even gaps, feels decidedly premium. The interface is screen-focused, but it may be the sharpest and quickest interface I’ve ever used in a vehicle. Overall, the air of the SU7 is that of a rolling premium phone. Sure, there’s a lot of criticism for any company that uses interfaces that are so reliant on screens and tech, but the SU7 feels better thought out and executed than most. The Xiaomi’s interior and user interactions feel friendly, helpful, and easy to manage. Nothing is ever buried too deep in any menu, and the whole interface is customizable, with hot keys and shortcuts easily added by the user.
Also, if you’re not keen on Xiaomi’s interface, it has wireless Apple CarPlay or phone mirroring from your Xiaomi-branded phone. You can really tell the whole thing was designed by a tech company, the ease of use and responsiveness of the car’s infotainment felt akin to its line of phones. There is very little latency in Xiaomi’s setup.
Behind the wheel, it feels like Xiaomi R&D has definitely done its homework. Of course, the SU7 models I drove are China-spec, so the primary audience is that of drivers who generally value comfort, ease of use, and quietness compared to sporty driving dynamics. Although Xiaomi’s engineers do contend that its clientele is younger and in search of a more “European” feel behind the wheel, balancing that against what people in its market generally desire as a whole isn’t easy.
But I think Xiaomi did a really good job balancing the two conflicting ideas.
The SU7’s handling manners are neutral, its chassis is stiff, and it grips plenty on the Michelin Pilot Sport tires that most of the test units had. In a Gymkhana event, the SU7 is willing to go exactly where you direct it, with little protest from the car itself. It's remarkable how easy the SU7 is to drive hard; there’s a lot of power and capability, but it never feels like it’s overkill for the car.
On public roads, the SU7’s ride and driving manners are very much out of the way. Unlike a lot of other EV sedans, the SU7 feels decidedly low slung and well packaged, not as if I’m sitting on top of a big battery in a crossover styled to look like a sedan. The air suspension’s ride is exceptionally comfortable, while the pedal calibration for both the brake and throttle means you’ll never inadvertently upset a passenger with undue acceleration or braking. That is, unless you want to, since the SU7 Max will rocket to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds.
My only real complaint is that the steering is light, and the suspension a bit too soft, especially in the Eco and Normal modes. However, since this car is software defined, a few button taps and things were right where I wanted them; with the steering gaining heft and the CDC-damping air suspension adjusting itself for a stiffer ride and significantly less floaty handling.
Also, as an American, I’m clearly not this car’s target market in its current state of tune. I am sure that Xiaomi’s European R&D facility will easily tune it for tastes outside of China; there’s clearly a good base to start from here.
Yeah, I see how Xiaomi Won.
The SU7 is a good car, but you do not have to take my word for it. There are plenty of other automotive journalists, industry insiders, engineers, YouTubers, influencers, or whoever else that got as much seat time, if not more than me, and have extolled the virtues of the Xiaomi SU7. You can add me to that list, too, because the car is great. Even in the context of a lot of good EV sedans on China’s market, the SU7 manages to stand out in a very crowded field.
But, I think it’s time to move past gushing over Chinese cars, and really understand how we got here, and why China’s EV market is dominating, and proves such an existential threat to legacy car manufacturers.
Just like its phones, Xiaomi’s production line takes a lot of the same self-developed, highly automated approach. The body shop, that is, the place where much of its chassis and body parts are created, has a stunningly low number of employees. Out of the roughly 2,000 employees involved in the manufacturing of its cars, only 100 people work at its body shop. Xiaomi says that part of vehicle construction is 91% automated. I didn’t get a chance to see its actual manufacturing line this time, but other sources have explained that the company’s production lines are also very automated, with Xiaomi claiming that it can churn out one car every 76 seconds when operating at full capacity.
This is why everyone is scared of China, and why China’s so scared of Xiaomi. As was stated earlier, Xiaomi clearly brought its ideas of how to make and market a phone to a car. Whether its highly automated vehicle assembly line that mirrors how the company builds its phones, or the well-resolved, hyper-responsive software, the SU7, YU7, and Xiaomi’s complete line of smart tech devices do feel “cool”, just like Xu Fei said. However, their development and existence process shows that there are a lot of very smart, very talented people at Xiaomi. This brand knows exactly who its customers are and just how to reach them. Xiaomi is now the third largest manufacturer of phones in Europe, behind Apple and Samsung. Could its magic made with phones apply to the car market in Europe, just like in China? We’ll see soon, I guess.
My time with Xiaomi left my brain buzzing with new questions and possibilities. The brand’s representatives say that at least for now, its car business is more of a premium venture, focused on higher-income customers. Its next model will likely be a three-row SUV (possibly an extended-range EV), which is a premium market in China.
But, what if it took all these lessons it’s learned and applied them to a cheap EV? What if Xiaomi tried its hand at making an affordable EV compact hatchback or crossover that was as well executed as the SU7 and YU7?
If that ever happens, then every auto manufacturer on the planet would be in serious trouble. Because I’d wager that Xiaomi would win.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
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