Upgraded Model Y Image Source: Tesla's Official Website

Choose Lei Jun or Elon Musk?

Written by / Meng Huiyuan

Edited by / Li Jinlin

Typeset by / Annalee

"Upgraded Model Y: A Bold Comparison."

In response to Tesla's bold challenge of the year, several domestic automakers, including Xiaomi Automobile, Zhijie, Zeekr, Ledo Auto, AITO, and Lynk & Co., have promptly issued their own challenges.

After all, with price points of 263,500 yuan and 303,500 yuan, consumers with a car purchase budget or intention to buy have numerous options beyond just the upgraded Model Y. There's also the Lixiang L6, AITO M7, Zhijie R7, XPeng G6, Xiaomi YU7, and more...

Despite the fierce competition, one question that has sparked widespread debate is, "Should I buy the upgraded Tesla Model Y or continue to wait for Xiaomi YU7?"

Evidently, apart from Xiaomi YU7, other brands have essentially become supporting actors in this grand opening show of 2025.

Tesla Fires the Year's First Shot

On January 10, the unveiling and pre-order opening of Tesla's upgraded Model Y ignited the fuse for the domestic new energy vehicle market in 2025.

Reports indicate that the upgraded Model Y boasts a maximum battery life of 707 km, an additional 8-inch touchscreen in the rear, enhanced intelligent driving capabilities, improved performance and lifespan, and a redesigned exterior. Tesla China announced two versions of the upgraded Model Y: a rear-wheel-drive version and a long-range all-wheel-drive version, with pre-sale prices starting at 263,500 yuan and 303,500 yuan, respectively, an increase of 13,600 yuan and 12,600 yuan from the current models. Pre-sales commenced immediately after the launch.

The official website page notes that the upgraded Model Y is awaiting regulatory approval and is expected to begin deliveries in March. Notably, Tesla seems quite confident in the upgraded Model Y, even tweeting directly from its official account, "Just compare—the only one that can surpass the Model Y is the upgraded Model Y."

Subsequently, several domestic automakers responded: Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group, was the first to respond with "Good" on Weibo, along with the hashtag "#XiaomiYU7#"; Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, Chairman of the Terminal BG, and Chairman of the Intelligent Vehicle Solutions BU, also responded on WeChat Moments, "Judging from the data, Zhijie R7 still maintains a leading edge! After getting the actual car, let's compare Zhijie R7 well"; Zeekr, Ledo Auto, AITO, Lynk & Co., and other new car manufacturing forces also chimed in...

In fact, since the release of the upgraded Model Y, the consumer market's response has been overwhelmingly positive, reaffirming Tesla's strong market appeal in China.

According to auto blogger "Changsanjiao Xingjianzhe," Tesla's new Model Y received up to 50,000 orders on the day of its launch on January 10, aligning with information released by auto blogger "Panghu Shawn," who stated that some Tesla stores even received over 100 orders in a single day. It is understood that although consumers have now paid a deposit, due to the overwhelming demand, it is expected that they will have to wait until April or May to take delivery of the car.

Although the above order volume is merely a guess, and Tesla has not officially released relevant order data so far, Znke has also contacted multiple Tesla offline stores. Many salespeople claim that although the display car for the new Model Y has not yet arrived at the store, it does not dampen consumers' enthusiasm for understanding and placing orders for the new version, and it has even increased orders for the old version.

After all, with minimal changes to the new model and trade-in subsidies for the old model, "cost-effectiveness" is also a pivotal factor in the order decision. Reports indicate that there are currently no discounts for ordering the new Model Y, but the old model can enjoy an immediate discount of 10,000 yuan on the final payment and a 5-year interest-free policy, with a discounted price of 239,900 yuan.

Is Xiaomi YU7 the Sole Competitor?

For quite some time, under the marketing trend of "electric cars have only Tesla and others," Tesla was once the top choice for many young people purchasing their first car. Especially as a benchmark model in the 200,000 to 300,000 yuan new energy vehicle market, Tesla Model Y has become the entry-level choice for consumers transitioning from gasoline to electric cars. Such a market position naturally attracted all-round "benchmarking" and "siege" from numerous domestic automakers.

A landmark event was the "Six Sects Besieging Tesla Model Y": Between September and October 2024, six automakers, including Ledo, Zeekr, Zhijie, IM Motors, AITO, and Haval, successively launched new products. Almost all of these models took the Model Y as their competitor.

Unfortunately, the combined sales of these six companies did not surpass that of Tesla alone. From September to December, the total sales of the six automakers were 112,000 units, while Tesla's total sales for the four months exceeded 190,000 units. In December alone, Tesla Model Y sales exceeded 60,000 units, and only two of the six automakers' competing SUV models surpassed 10,000 units.

Of course, with the support of the upgraded version, the seemingly invincible Model Y is still facing even fiercer competition in the Chinese new energy SUV market. According to incomplete statistics, new energy SUV models such as Xiaomi YU7, Geely Yinhe Xingjian 9 EM-i, BYD Tang L, XPeng G7, which are at the same level in price and product power as the upgraded Model Y, will be launched successively in 2025.

This time, among all the competitors, the most prominent and vocal one still comes from Xiaomi Automobile.

Looking back at Xiaomi Automobile's previous "dark horse," Xiaomi SU7 enjoyed both good reputation and sales in 2024. On March 29, 2024, Xiaomi Automobile announced via its official Weibo that Xiaomi SU7 received up to 89,000 orders within 24 hours of its launch. Ultimately, Xiaomi Automobile's total deliveries for the entire year of 2024 reached 135,000 units, successfully achieving the annual target of 130,000 units, making Xiaomi SU7 one of the most successful models in 2024.

Subsequently, Xiaomi SU7 even stood out in various car accident incidents with the attitude of "the worst configuration is the driver" and the strength of "it turns out that Lei Jun didn't know how to cut corners when he first made a car." Currently, Xiaomi SU7 has even replaced the Model 3 to become one of the most popular pure electric sedans in the Chinese market.

Such a record has made countless consumers even more eager to see Xiaomi YU7, and they have even posed a new question in life: "Should I buy the upgraded Tesla Model Y or continue to wait for Xiaomi YU7?"

In response, Lei Jun couldn't help but reiterate in the comments section that Xiaomi YU7 is expected to be launched in June to July and revealed that the new car is undergoing final testing. Some netizens expressed that they were "particularly urgent," to which Lei Jun replied, "If you're particularly urgent and can't wait for the YU7, the Model Y is also good."

Regardless of how large the scale of automakers' clashes will be in 2025, it is evident that after the high-profile challenges from multiple parties, it is ultimately up to consumers to decide whether it will be the upgraded Model Y, Xiaomi YU7, a new dark horse from the "six sects," or someone else that will dominate the new energy SUV market.