Introduction

Has Tesla's "strongest competitor" finally arrived?

200,000 pre-orders in 3 minutes;

Nearly 290,000 in 1 hour!

These are the remarkable sales figures following the launch of Xiaomi YU7, as Xiaomi orchestrated a highly anticipated "Crazy Thursday" for the Chinese automotive industry.

This week in the automotive world, the spotlight falls on Xiaomi, with Lei Jun in the limelight. After unveiling the standard version's price of 253,500 yuan, the number of locked orders soared, igniting nationwide excitement and setting a new benchmark in China's automotive industry.

"If Tesla dares to issue a challenge, we dare to compete. Xiaomi dares to compete!" Lei Jun's playful yet defiant response at the launch event set the tone for Xiaomi YU7's challenge to Model Y. With a few slides, Model Y was directly compared, echoing Lei Jun's earlier promise of not fearing Tesla's challenge.

Foreign media, witnessing this event, also commented on Xiaomi YU7's arrival with eye-catching headlines: Tesla's strongest competitor has finally arrived!

In fact, foreign media had previously reported that Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley shipped a Xiaomi SU7 from China to the United States, where he has been driving it ever since, praising Xiaomi Auto as comparable to "Apple in the Chinese automotive industry."

After the successful sales of Xiaomi SU7, The Wall Street Journal commented that Xiaomi had achieved what Tesla, Apple, Ford, and GM had failed to do: "Xiaomi can create popular electric vehicles in a short period of time, offering good quality at affordable prices. Remember, it took Tesla over a decade from its inception to produce 300,000 vehicles."

In terms of data, Xiaomi YU7 boasts advantages over Model Y in power, intelligence, and space. Moreover, information released at the launch event reveals Xiaomi YU7's sincerity, even in the cheapest standard version, without compromising on quality to reduce prices.

Lei Jun previously tweeted that Model Y is recognized as an "epic masterpiece" in the industry, having been the global sales champion for consecutive years, defeating numerous newcomers and challengers. Impressive indeed! "But we still set an 'unrealistic' goal to challenge Model Y with Xiaomi YU7."

With the number of locked orders trending on social media, Lei Jun's next challenge will be to successfully compete with the former "epic masterpiece" in terms of mass production and delivery. During a group interview, Lei Jun saw the data on a staff member's phone, revealing that out of the 198,000 pre-orders in the first two minutes, 128,000 were locked orders. This figure alone is equivalent to Tesla Model Y's sales in the Chinese market from January to May this year.

According to Xiaomi's locked order data, the number of locked orders has surpassed 240,000 within 18 hours of launch. This is indeed a remarkable scene in the automotive industry, which has long been embroiled in price wars and internal competition.

In May this year, Xiaomi SU7 sold 28,000 units, ranking first in monthly sales of mid-to-large sedans for the seventh consecutive month. Judging from market reactions, the negative impact of previous traffic accidents does not seem to have significantly affected Xiaomi SU7. From March to May this year, the model's monthly sales exceeded 28,000 units, moving closer to the 30,000-unit mark.

Despite public opinion, Xiaomi SU7's "blooming period" has lasted longer than many expected. And based on current sales feedback, this popular model's "blooming period" will continue for some time. Xiaomi YU7, launched this week, has seen popularity far exceeding that of Xiaomi SU7. It seems that this "phenomenal" new car's sales "blooming period" will be much longer than Xiaomi SU7's.

Furthermore, at Xiaomi Auto showrooms in major cities, long queues have formed this week, reminiscent of the popular scene when Xiaomi SU7 was first launched. Many people are willing to wait nearly half an hour in high temperatures just to catch a glimpse of Xiaomi YU7. Sales staff, busy maintaining order, sometimes have no time to rest.

Interestingly, behind the impressive number of locked orders, only those who locked their orders earlier and were faster have a chance to receive their vehicles sooner. As a result, secondary platforms (such as Xianyu) have seen a surge in resale and scalper posts, with many people willing to pay a premium of more than 10,000 yuan.

Wrapping up the week's automotive news and reviewing major and minor events, "Car Talk of the Week" brings you all the car talk and anecdotes. See you next week!

Editor-in-Charge: Li Sijia | Editor: Wang Yue