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Chinese consumer electronics maker Xiaomi is ready to launch an electric SUV next year as a follow-up on the smashing success of its first vehicle, the SU7.
The firm expects to launch the YU7 SUV next June or July, according to an announcement posted to China’s social media platform Weibo. The post was accompanied by a product image showing the YU7 and SU7 side-by-side, illustrating their similar designs.
“Meet our new Xiaomi EV family member, Xiaomi YU7,” CEO Lei Jun wrote on X alongside the product image.
The YU7 is expected to rival Tesla’s (TSLA+7.98%) best-selling Model Y. The new SUV uses batteries sourced from battery giant CATL, is roughly the same length as the Model Y, and can reach a top speed of 157 miles per hour. That would be slightly faster than the 2024 Model Y’s top speed of 155 miles per hour.
On Weibo, Jun said the specifications were released early to allow for “more comprehensive and extensive large-scale testing” over an extended period of time.
Despite the YU7 only being Xiaomi’s second foray into the auto sector, the company has already achieved some success.
Just 24 hours after the company unveiled the SU7 in March, it had received almost 90,000 pre-orders. A month later, Xiaomi said it planned to build 100,000 EVs to meet demand.
By November, Xiaomi had raised the delivery target for the SU7 three times to meet surging demand, with an estimated 130,000 units. The company delivered almost 40,000 vehicles last quarter, bringing its total to 67,157 units between late March and September.
The company reported a 30.5% jump in third-quarter revenue last month, beating analyst expectations. Its innovation business, which includes its EVs, had gross margins of 17.1% and an average vehicle sales price of RMB 238,650 ($32,868).
The base SU7 is benchmarked against Tesla’s Model 3 and strategically priced to be $4,000 cheaper than the model in China. More expensive versions of the SU7, the Max and Ultra, have also been put on the market. The Max is a rival to Porsche’s Taycan EV, while the Ultra has been priced to rival Tesla’s Model S Plaid.