Xiaomi EV — briefing note
From smartphones to a 411,000-unit-a-year carmaker in under two years
Xiaomi Corporation is a Beijing-based consumer-electronics group best known for smartphones and connected (IoT) devices that, in March 2024, became a carmaker with the SU7 electric sedan. The EV arm scaled to 411,082 deliveries in 2025 and turned its first full-year segment operating profit, before falling back into a quarterly loss in early 2026 as it cut prices and absorbed component-cost rises. The Beijing Yizhuang gigafactory being visited is the plant where the SU7 and YU7 are built.
What they do
Xiaomi Group runs three businesses: smartphones, IoT/lifestyle products, and the smart-EV-and-AI segment launched in 2024. The EV unit (Xiaomi Auto / Xiaomi EV) is a wholly owned subsidiary incorporated with RMB 10 bn (~USD 1.6 bn) registered capital.
The product line is:
- SU7 — performance sedan, launched March 2024; reported as the best-selling sedan in mainland China above the RMB 200,000 price point in 2025. A new-generation SU7 launched March 2026.
- SU7 Ultra — high-performance flagship, launched February 2025 at RMB 529,900 (~USD 73k). Holds a 7:04.957 Nürburgring Nordschleife lap, fastest mass-produced EV at the time of the run.
- YU7 — electric SUV, launched June 2025; the volume driver, reaching ~232,000 cumulative deliveries within ~10 months and 39,089 of December 2025’s record monthly total.
The plant (Beijing Yizhuang): built in phases of ~150,000 units/year each. Phase 1 (completed 2023) began SU7 deliveries in April 2024; Phase 2 was handed over and ramped in mid-2025, taking nominal capacity to ~300,000 units/year. Xiaomi has secured further Yizhuang land (~485,000 m²) for a third phase, reflecting demand running ahead of nameplate capacity.
Key financials
All figures Xiaomi-reported unless marked estimate. USD at ~RMB 6.9/USD; HKD/USD ~7.8.
| Metric | Figure | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Group revenue | RMB 457.3 bn (~USD 66 bn), +25% YoY | FY2025 |
| Group adjusted net profit | RMB 39.2 bn (~USD 5.7 bn), +44% YoY | FY2025 |
| EV-and-AI segment revenue | RMB 106.1 bn (~USD 15.4 bn), +224% YoY | FY2025 |
| EV-and-AI segment operating result | +RMB 0.9 bn (~USD 130 m) — first profit | FY2025 |
| EV-and-AI segment operating result | −RMB 3.1 bn (~USD 457 m) loss | Q1 2026 |
| EV deliveries | 411,082 units, +200% YoY | FY2025 |
| EV deliveries | 80,856 units; ~RMB 19.0 bn EV revenue | Q1 2026 |
| Segment gross margin | 24.3% FY2025; 20.1% Q1 2026 | — |
| Market cap (1810.HK) | ~USD 94 bn (est., ~HKD 0.73 tn) | Jun 2026 |
| Employees (group) | ~56,500 | Jun 2026 |
| HQ | Haidian District, Beijing | — |
The Q1 2026 loss is the figure to flag: despite delivery growth, the segment lost ~USD 5,600 per car, which Xiaomi attributes to lower SU7 Ultra mix, a purchase-tax subsidy it funded, and higher component prices.
Leadership
- Lei Jun — founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group; also CEO and legal representative of the EV unit, personally leading the car programme.
- William Lu (Lu Weibing) — Group President.
- Li Tianyuan — chief designer / GM of industrial design for the car business (ex-BMW, designed the iX).
- Yu Liguo — EV-unit VP (ex-Arcfox/BAIC), now heading the overseas-business preparation group as Xiaomi readies international sales. The unit also appointed its first CTO ahead of the 2026 Beijing auto show.
Recent news
- Feb 2025 — SU7 Ultra launched (RMB 529,900); hit its 10,000-unit annual order target within two hours.
- Mar 29, 2025 — Fatal SU7 crash on the Dezhou–Yangzhou expressway (Anhui): the car was on navigate-on-autopilot at ~116 km/h, struck a barrier in a roadworks diversion at ~97 km/h, and caught fire; three university students died. Public concern centred on whether the ADAS detected the obstacle and whether the electronic door handles impeded escape. Xiaomi published vehicle logs and later recalled ~117,000 SU7s for an OTA software fix. The case triggered tighter Chinese rules on assisted-driving marketing and electronic door handles, and a further fatal SU7 fire was reported in late 2025/early 2026 — door-egress design remains under scrutiny.
- Jun 2025 — YU7 SUV launched, drawing very large first-day order volumes and becoming the unit’s volume leader.
- Mid-2025 — Phase 2 of the Yizhuang plant ramped, lifting capacity toward 300,000 units/year; further land secured for Phase 3.
- Mar 2026 — FY2025 results: EV-and-AI segment topped RMB 100 bn revenue and posted its first annual operating profit (RMB 0.9 bn).
- May 2026 — Q1 2026 results: 80,856 deliveries but a RMB 3.1 bn segment operating loss; new senior hires signal an overseas-expansion push.
Relevance to the visit
For an Australian energy, EV and battery audience, Xiaomi shows how fast a cash-rich electronics group can enter automotive when it controls software, supply chains and a Tier-1 city manufacturing base — relevant to expectations about Chinese EV cost curves and export pressure on Australia’s market. The Yizhuang plant illustrates the high-automation “gigafactory” template (die-casting, integrated battery packs) that sets the cost benchmark Australian fleets and importers will price against. The Q1 2026 per-unit loss is a useful counterweight to headline volume growth: even leading Chinese EV makers are still buying share at negative unit margins. The SU7 safety case is a live example of how ADAS marketing and battery/door-egress design are now regulated in China, a precedent worth watching as Australia frames its own ADAS and EV-safety rules.
Sources
- https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202603/24/WS69c26b02a310d6866eb3f9fa.html
- https://cnevpost.com/2026/03/24/xiaomi-ev-and-ai-unit-posts-1st-annual-profit/
- https://www.electrive.com/2026/03/25/xiaomi-reports-first-annual-profit-for-ev-business/
- https://cnevpost.com/2026/05/26/xiaomi-ev-business-posts-operating-loss/
- https://carnewschina.com/2026/05/26/xiaomi-loses-5600-usd-for-every-car-sold-in-the-first-quarter-of-2026/
- https://autonews.gasgoo.com/articles/ev/xiaomi-ev-delivers-over-80000-units-in-q1-2026-automotive-business-revenue-reaches-19-billion-yuan-2059593584695898113
- https://cnevpost.com/2025/05/20/xiaomi-ev-plant-phase-2-completed-jun/
- https://cnevpost.com/2025/06/20/xiaomi-new-land-beijing-ev-project/
- https://carnewschina.com/2025/04/01/first-fatal-accident-involving-xiaomi-su7-claims-three-lives-on-chinese-highway/
- https://www.automotiveworld.com/news/china-probe-finds-ev-door-tech-failed-in-fatal-xiaomi-crash/
- https://carnewschina.com/2026/02/25/xiaomi-car-owner-dies-after-crash-report-reveals-doors-couldnt-open-due-to-power-failure/
- https://cnevpost.com/2025/02/27/xiaomi-launches-su7-ultra/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaomi_SU7
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaomi_Auto
- https://cnevpost.com/2026/05/08/xiaomi-ev-accelerates-overseas-push-exec-appointments/
- https://companiesmarketcap.com/xiaomi/marketcap/
- https://stockanalysis.com/quote/hkg/1810/market-cap/