- Xiaomi, the smartphone manufacturer turned EV entrepreneur, just smashed all of its delivery targets for 2024
- SU7 production is expected to more than double for 2025
- Global sales, when launched, could lead Xiaomi’s sales to threaten more seasoned Chinese EV brands
From phones to the road, Xiaomi’s foray into building cars has been nothing short of a head-turner. And why wouldn’t it be? The Xiaomi SU7 is a properly impressive machine packed full of tech with tons of range and an almost unbeatable price.
The world must agree, because Xiaomi managed to close out 2024 by delivering more than 135,000 units of the SU7, smashing its annual production target of 130,000 units (which it had already previously raised twice, from 76,000 and 120,000).
Xiaomi isn’t done either. After its CEO Lei Jun broke the news of the deliveries, he told the world that he had an even bigger number in mind: 300,000.
That’s the target for 2025. The new target is contingent on Xiaomi completing the second phase of its production plant, which is a separate building located about a block away from the first phase plant and is anticipated to be completed in June. Each phase is said to add 150,000 units of annual output capacity to the plant. And to add some gas to the fire, Xiaomi is reportedly expanding its phase 1 plant as well.
Earlier this year, Xiaomi broke a Tesla record when it built its 100,000th SU7 just 230 days after it began production of the sedan. For comparison, it took Tesla 464 days to reach the same production target with the Model 3. In 2018, Tesla produced 145,846 Model 3s. By 2019—the third year of production for the Model 3—Tesla broke the 300,000-unit barrier.
Now, 135,000 units in a year is nothing to shake a stick at. It’s properly impressive, especially for a company that churned out its first production car just 13 months ago. But that’s nothing in the eyes of some of the larger competition in its home market of China. BYD, Nio, and XPeng all hold strong in their turf, but at the pace that Xiaomi is catching the interest of the public, there’s no way that management at some other automakers aren’t at least a little shaken up by how quickly Xiaomi has gained market share.
CEO Jun has said in the past that Xiaomi planned to sell the SU7 in other markets, but not before it had a broader lineup of vehicles under its belt. We know that a Model Y-fighting vehicle is in the works and could be released as early as this year, but is that enough for Xiaomi to go global? That alone opens a whole world of possibilities for the electronics giant—and it’s what really could put a target on its back for China’s big three.
For now, its push feels like a classic market disruptor play. And, honestly, it’s working. The company’s deep roots in tech have given its car a unique cutting-edge feel that the market absolutely adores and Xiaomi’s aggressive pricing makes the SU7 a really attractive offering.
Keep in mind that jumping from 135,000 to 300,000 cars is a huge feat. This means that everything must align for Xiaomi in its next chapter for things to work out—demand, production capacity, and reliability. If a wrench is thrown into its gear, it could disrupt the disruptor. But if it doesn’t stumble and instead scales smartly, the future for Xiaomi and its SU7 looks awfully bright.
