Xiaomi’s electric SUV tops China sales in January, sells twice as many as Tesla’s Model Y
Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi has launched its YU7 electric SUV in summer 2025, directly targeting Tesla’s Model Y.
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BEIJING — Xiaomi‘s electric car startup managed to be dethroned Tesla’s In China, at least in January.
According to data from the China Passenger Automobile Association, Xiaomi YU7 SUV ranked first in China with sales of 37,869 units last month; that was twice as many as Tesla’s 16,845 Model Y vehicles.
Model Y, which was the best-selling model in December, fell to 20th place in January. Among new energy vehicles, it fell from first place to seventh place in the same period.
The figures include both electric and gasoline vehicles and were published late Thursday by online car sales platform Autohome.
Xiaomi started selling its second electric car model, the YU7, about six months ago, in the summer of 2025.
The Chinese company, known for its smartphones, did not hesitate to aim to rival Tesla. Xiaomi launched the car with a starting price of 10,000 yuan ($1,450) below the Model Y in China. The company claimed that the model beats Tesla in key metrics such as driving range on a single battery charge.
Analysts predicted last year that the YU7 would take market share from Model Y, Tesla’s best-selling car in China. In December, Model Y ranked first in monthly sales. BYD‘s budget-priced Qin Plus car. Xiaomi’s YU7 came in third place.
Monthly sales figures may vary. While YU7 overtook Model Y in October, the Xiaomi car failed to take first place. Tesla has been consistently stronger in sales so far.
Excluding gasoline-powered cars, Tesla ranked fifth in China sales last year, while Xiaomi ranked tenth. According to data from the China Passenger Vehicle Association, BYD led the Chinese automobile market with sales of more than 3 million vehicles in 2025, followed by Geely with 2.6 million vehicles.
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The YU7’s strong sales in January came despite an overall slowdown in China’s electric car market in recent months.
Xiaomi’s earlier SU7 sedan also faced scrutiny following fatal accidents involving its driver assistance features and power-operated door handles. Beijing has since banned hidden door handles, while automakers have begun installing external lights that indicate when driver assistance is being used.
Like most Chinese electric car companies, Xiaomi plans to expand abroad, including Europe, next year.
