Tesla’s nightmare: Xiaomi’s YU7 stuns China’s EV market with 289,000 orders in an hour

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has received nearly 300,000 orders for its newly launched YU7 electric SUV within an hour, in a show of demand that sent its shares to a record high on Friday and stoked speculation that Tesla may have to cut prices to fend off competition.

The YU7, priced starting at $35,000, is nearly 4% cheaper than Tesla’s Model Y, China’s best-selling SUV, which starts at $36,760.

In a Weibo post, Xiaomi said it received over 200,000 orders for the YU7 within three minutes of its launch in Beijing.

Within an hour, bookings surged to more than 289,000 units, exceeding market expectations of around 100,000 and more than three times the order levels for its SU7 electric sedan launched in March last year.

The strong demand propelled Xiaomi shares to a record high in Hong Kong on Friday, gaining 8% before paring some gains to trade 2.6% higher at HKD 59.60.

The stock has risen over 70% so far this year, valuing the company at nearly $200 billion, making it the best-performing large-cap stock in Asia Pacific, according to LSEG data.

“YU7 seems to be selling like hot cakes despite slightly higher pricing” than estimated, Jefferies analysts led by Edison Lee wrote in a note, adding that the YU7’s specs and performance outshine those of Tesla’s Model Y.

Xiaomi’s founder and CEO, Lei Jun, didn't miss the opportunity to take a jibe at Tesla during the launch event.

“Tesla previously said, ‘Go ahead and compare,’ and we at Xiaomi just won’t accept defeat. Today we officially take up Tesla’s invite to compare,” Lei said.

Tesla’s market share in China’s EV sector has been declining steadily, falling from a peak of 15% in 2020 to 10% last year and further to 7.6% in the first months of 2025, amid stiff competition from domestic EV makers such as BYD, Nio, Xpeng, and now Xiaomi.

The YU7 is Xiaomi’s second EV after its SU7 sedan, which has consistently outsold Tesla’s Model 3 in China on a monthly basis since December.