Xiaomi between smartphones and cars: the situation in 2026

China already has an eye on Xiaomi’s full potential, now it’s Europe’s turn. Among the national giants in the field of smartphones and household appliances with over 2,000 products, Xiaomi – founded only on 6 April 2010 and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2018 – has rapidly evolved year after year, acquiring, at a national level, the status of leader in consumer electronics, IoT and smartphones. In Europe it is best known for its line of premium mobile phones, completed by the Redmi brands (with competitive prices) and Poco (for those looking for a “flagship” technical sheet for games and multitasking). Not content with playing a leading role in China and consolidating itself as the third global power behind only Apple and Samsung, from 2024 – after three years of hard work – the brand presented its first car, the SU7 sedan, followed the following year by the YU7 SUV.

Beijing Motor Show

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At the Beijing Motor Show Xiaomi put the update of its sedan on display SU7: on one side with a spectacular cross-section to admire the individual components of the car up close, on the other in the Ultra variant, the most extreme with 1,548 HP of power and 1,770 Nm of torque. The 2026 news for the YU7 instead concerns the arrival of a GT variant, with all-wheel drive, 1,003 HP and 300 km/h, with 705 km of autonomy in the Chinese CLTC cycle (more generous than the WLTP) and with a sportier look in the bodywork, in crimson red colour.

Vision GT

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Queen of the stage, however, was the Vision GT, a concept whose debut was… digital, on Gran Turismo 7. Spotted in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress 2026, it was at the Beijing Motor Show that the local public was able to admire the electric hypercar up close. Close yes, but not very close, because the enormous amount of public crowded around the Xiaomi stand is the litmus test of how – at least for now and on a national level – this brand (the work of founder Lei Jun) has managed to create extreme curiosity and popularity around itself. In a word: desirability.

An interconnected system

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The above concept is an aspect that should not be underestimated, because it generates passion and creates a base of “fans”. In the world in which Europe remains anchored to history to give value to a brand and China measures it through technology, this explains how Xiaomi represents – already today – a solid reality in the domestic market. At this point a question therefore arises: why did Xiaomi enter the automotive world if until 2021 it was only thinking about making smartphones and other devices? The answer lies in an increasingly interconnected future and in the concept of Human-Car-Homewhere the car talks to the home appliances, the smartphone talks to the car and everything is connected. Activating the hood over the stove, opening the curtains, turning on the air conditioners and managing other devices even before entering the house, doing it from the comfort of your car with a simple voice command, is already a reality in China. To make all this work best, a digital space capable of speaking the same language is needed. A language which for Xiaomi is called HyperOS, Xiaomi’s proprietary operating system based on Android which replaced MiUi.

Numbers and landing in Europe

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Returning again to the concept of desirability that was spoken of before, this has translated, from October 2024 to today, into 650,000 registrations of SU7 and YU7, of which 450,000 left the Beijing factory in 2025 alone, with a production capacity of over 1,000 vehicles per day. Numbers with a significant specific weight if they are added to the over billion devices sold by Xiaomi all over the world in the course of just fifteen years. While waiting to analyze the 2026 data, the 2027 data will include the presence on the European market, given that the arrival of Xiaomi (car) in the Old Continent is now imminent. Since November 2025, among other things, a research and development headquarters has been operational in Munich (Germany), headed by Rudolf Dittrich, ex BMW, to give an even more emotional and European imprint to the vehicles. Will the German market be the first market for Xiaomi? It’s easy to deduce, although there are no confirmations or denials on the matter. Just as it is easy to deduce that future more compact models could arrive, a little more European-sized, if the intent, mentioned in a press conference at the Beijing Motor Show, is to enter the Top 5 of world manufacturers.

Prices

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In short, if the Apple Car idea foundered in the time of Covid, Xiaomi – tech company to all intents and purposes – it is now where industry giants such as the Cupertino company and other competitors have never concretely ventured. It has also caused a lot of talk in Europe, the Xiaomi SU7, sold in China at prices that in the Old Continent we would consider rock-bottom for the times in which we live and analyzing its technical specifications, dimensions (5 meters in length), construction quality (internal finishes of the highest level), technology. SU7 (in China starting from around 28,000 euros, at the current exchange rate; from 38,000 euros the all-wheel drive Max with 690 HP; and from 72,000 euros the Ultra with 1,548 HP) and YU7 would thus, albeit with additional European customs duties and considerable transport costs, settle respectively in the fields of sedans and D-segment SUVs, obviously 100% electric. In addition to elements such as those mentioned above, this will also be influenced by the positioning that the brand wants to give itself in Europe: premium, of course, but much is still to be defined.

EV Factory

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What is certain is that Xiaomi, like other Chinese companies, has found a way to produce at advantageous costs, taking advantage of the thriving national ecosystem, the economic growth of the country and the benefit of producing a lot on its own, without excessive external commissions. Inside, the electric vehicle factory is striking not only for the massive presence of robots capable of managing complex and very different tasks in relation to the quantity of personnel, at least in the initial phase of the production process; but also for the fact that Xiaomi itself is responsible for melting steel and aluminum to create the framework of the cars.

A modern power

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What is surprising, after visiting Xiaomi’s key locations in the Beijing area, are aspects such as maturity, seriousness, know-howthe ability to do business and build something great in such a short time. In 16 years Xiaomi has developed an empire: from interesting start-ups capable of bringing the Mi 1, the first smartphone, to the market, with a production of 10 million mobile phones per year, at a rate of one phone every 6 seconds in specific automated systems within a brand new generation hi-tech factory of 81,000 m2, inaugurated in 2024. In between the acquisition of endless skills, incorporating within itself other interesting start-ups always orbiting in the technology branch.

Test areas

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Consider that test areas similar to shopping centres, villages, shops, pubs and so on have been created within the company to test the smartphone rooms by simulating their use in real life. And for wearables (such as smartwatches), an athletics field has been created inside and outside which there are numerous gym equipment, swimming pools, ping-pong tables for testing AI glasses, ski slopes and much more. Development, also through the help of athletes, is incessant. To the point that they are studying when the muscles send electrical stimuli with parameters outside the average to understand in a preventive way when it is best to stop training. There is no shortage of areas, with a less sporty flavour, where the interconnection between a smartwatch and other appliances in the ecosystem is studied, in such a way as to control everything simply by snapping your fingers or with your fingers. gesture. In short, Xiaomi is a 360° tech company with its own clear vision of the world. In China they are well aware of what it is capable of doing, Europe – with the imminent arrival of the car division as an important part of the puzzle – is about to find out.