The daily rental price of the Xiaomi YU7 is 5,000 yuan, surpassing that of Lamborghini. Is it really a luxury vehicle that outperforms its class?

The car rental price rivals that of Lamborghini. Is the Xiaomi YU7 really the most recognized domestic luxury car?

After entering the era of new energy vehicles, domestic automakers have flocked to the high - end market. Traditional automakers such as BYD, Changan, and Great Wall, as well as new car - making forces like NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto, have all launched products priced over 200,000 yuan. However, a high - priced product does not necessarily mean it is recognized in the high - end market. The attitude of consumers is the key.

The Xiaomi YU7, starting at 253,500 yuan, received over 200,000 firm orders in just 3 minutes. This figure is significantly higher than the cumulative sales of its competitor, the Tesla Model Y, from January to May this year. The astonishing number of firm orders proves that Xiaomi has established a foothold in the high - end market. Moreover, the crazy performance of the Xiaomi YU7 on the second - hand platform Xianyu shows us Xiaomi's even more terrifying strength.

With a rental price comparable to million - level luxury cars, has the Xiaomi YU7 achieved a leapfrog success?

Any popular product cannot escape the speculation of scalpers, and the Xiaomi YU7 is no exception. On the second - hand platform Xianyu, many people have posted orders for transfer, with prices ranging from a few hundred yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. After in - depth investigation, Electric Vehicle Insights found that the product links with lower prices are just to attract users to click in and are not the real order transfer prices. Some sellers even noted on the product page that "the highest bidder gets it".

(Source: Screenshot from Xianyu)

Not all orders can be successfully transferred at high prices. Orders with shorter delivery cycles are more expensive, while orders scheduled for the end of this year or even next year are difficult to sell. The transfer fees of orders, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan, once again prove the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7.

Even more exaggerated is the extremely high rental price of the Xiaomi YU7. On the car rental platform Hello Rent, the daily rental price of the Tesla Model Y, a competitor of the Xiaomi YU7 in Guangzhou, is only over 200 yuan. The price of the plug - in hybrid model AITO M7 is slightly higher but still does not exceed 300 yuan per day.

(Source: Screenshot from Alipay)

On the Xianyu platform, the rental price of the Xiaomi YU7 series ranges from 1,500 yuan to 5,000 yuan per day, depending on the version. Most of the links with a price of around 2,000 yuan per day are for the standard version of the Xiaomi YU7, while those above 3,000 yuan per day are generally for the Xiaomi YU7 Max. Compared with models like the Model Y and AITO M7, the rental price of the Xiaomi YU7 is about 10 times higher.

(Source: Screenshot from Xianyu)

The rental prices of models from brands like Lamborghini and McLaren, which are priced over one million yuan, are not much different from that of the Xiaomi YU7 on the Xianyu platform. In fact, the rental prices of some models are even cheaper than that of the Xiaomi YU7 Max.

The fact that scalpers' order transfer prices exceeded 10,000 yuan at the product's launch and the rental price is comparable to that of top - tier luxury cars like Lamborghini and McLaren all indicate that the Xiaomi YU7 has been recognized by consumers in the high - end market.

Of course, the fact that the rental price of the Xiaomi YU7 exceeds that of million - level luxury cars also has some tricks. The Xiaomi YU7 was recently launched. Due to limited production capacity, orders have been scheduled until next year. The initial delivery volume cannot meet the market demand, resulting in the phenomenon of "rarity drives up the price".

Moreover, Xiaomi and Lei Jun have a strong influence among young consumers. The new car has received extremely high attention since its launch. Many Xiaomi fans and automotive media want to experience the Xiaomi YU7. Although 4S stores provide test - drive services, there are requirements for speed and route, which cannot allow for a completely free experience of the performance and functions of the Xiaomi YU7.

At this time, Xiaomi fans need other channels to experience the Xiaomi YU7. The second - hand platform has taken on this responsibility. The first - batch owners have put their products on the second - hand platform for consumers to rent. Scalpers transfer orders to make a profit from the price difference.

The bubble will eventually burst. Relying solely on the temporary popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 does not mean that the car can leapfrog challenge million - level luxury cars in terms of product strength. Xiaomi needs more products to help it establish its position in the high - end market and erode the market share of traditional luxury car brands.

Is choosing the right track the key to Xiaomi's great success in the automotive industry?

When many popular products are first launched, there will be order transfer prices and rental prices that do not match their actual value. Products such as Huawei's foldable phones and the Xiaomi SU7 have experienced this. The ability to be hyped on the second - hand platform is a recognition of the brand's influence and product strength. However, as production capacity increases and product delivery volume rises, this popularity will gradually fade away. The order transfer price and rental price of the Xiaomi YU7 will also gradually return to normal.

For Xiaomi, whether it is the fact that the SU7 sold over 137,000 units in 9 months after its launch in 2024 or the Xiaomi YU7 receiving over 200,000 firm orders in 3 minutes after its launch, these glorious achievements prove the hard power of Xiaomi's cars and its influence in the high - end market.

(Source: Xiaomi)

As companies that have entered the automotive industry from the mobile phone industry, Huawei and Xiaomi have taken completely opposite paths. Huawei refuses to build cars independently and cooperates with automakers such as Seres, Chery, Jianghuai, and BAIC to create the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility brand. The products it launches are mainly stable ones such as SUVs and executive - class sedans. Xiaomi, on the other hand, has targeted the young market. The coupe - style SU7, with its powerful performance and combined with Xiaomi's influence among young consumers, became a hit as soon as it was launched.

Although the Xiaomi YU7 is positioned as an SUV, its height of 1,600 mm (1,608 mm for some models) is relatively low compared to the 1,750 - mm height of the Li L7 and the 1,760 - mm height of the AITO M7, giving it an overall sporty and youthful look.

Statistics from the market research institution QuestMobile show that among the users who have installed smart - car apps, those born in the 1990s and 2000s account for 48.2%. The young group has become the engine driving the industry's growth. By choosing the right track, Xiaomi has reaped the industry's dividends.

However, the limited range of models remains a problem for Xiaomi. Currently, relying on the SU7 series and the YU7 series, Xiaomi covers the pure - electric performance car segment priced from 200,000 to 350,000 yuan. Xiaomi has yet to launch any hybrid models, another major category in the new energy vehicle market.

Data disclosed by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in the domestic new energy vehicle market in 2024, the share of pure - electric vehicles was about 60%, a year - on - year decrease of 10.4 percentage points, while the share of plug - in hybrids (including extended - range electric vehicles) was 40%, a year - on - year increase of 10.4 percentage points. Undoubtedly, plug - in hybrid models are gradually becoming the mainstay of the new energy vehicle industry. Xiaomi needs to quickly launch extended - range electric vehicles to capture the other half of the new energy vehicle market.

(Source: Xiaomi)

In addition, the sales volume of mid - and low - end models far exceeds that of high - end models. Automakers are constantly targeting the high - end market. On the one hand, luxury cars have a larger profit margin. On the other hand, luxury cars are a platform to showcase technological strength, which can help automakers increase their popularity. At the beginning of this year, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra emerged, truly catching up with Porsche in terms of product strength and price. It no longer relies on higher configurations and more affordable prices to win with cost - effectiveness. Similarly, the Xiaomi YU7 also needs an Ultra model to compete with the Porsche Macan.

From BYD Yangwang to HarmonyOS Smart Mobility's Zunjie, domestic automakers are gradually moving towards the million - level market. Compared with them, the Xiaomi brand has a younger audience, with more possibilities.

Xiaomi has a place in the club of new energy vehicle giants

Recently, He Xiaopeng, the CEO of XPeng Motors, said in an interview that Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers will go through a 3 - year elimination round, followed by a 3 - to 5 - year promotion round. Eventually, the number of surviving automakers may be less than 7. Industry insiders such as Yu Chengdong and Li Xiang have also made similar remarks.

In their view, the concentration of the automotive industry is intensifying. The arrival of the new energy vehicle era is a reshuffle of the industry. In this storm, automakers either break through with their hard power and grow into industry giants or join forces through mergers to enhance their strength. Otherwise, they will be eliminated by the market.

Among global new energy vehicle manufacturers, BYD undoubtedly has the most stable position. Its sales volume of over 3 million vehicles in 2024 is the best proof of its strength. Brands such as HarmonyOS Smart Mobility, Tesla, and Li Auto are also very powerful. Traditional domestic automakers such as Geely, Great Wall, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Ford are in the process of transformation. This elimination round will be extremely difficult.

Xiaomi, which announced its entry into the automotive industry just over four years ago, still seems rather weak when facing many giants, even with the support of the Xiaomi Group. Fortunately, the hot sales of the Xiaomi SU7 and YU7, as well as the recent performance of the YU7 on the second - hand platform, highlight Xiaomi's advantage of being highly recognized among young consumers.

(Source: Xiaomi)

Globally, the Xiaomi brand also has considerable influence in regions such as India, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In the future, it may have the opportunity to transfer this influence to its automotive products and help Xiaomi cars go global. In the short term, the most important thing for Xiaomi cars is to manage the domestic market well, quickly increase production capacity, and shorten the delivery cycle to avoid making consumers who have placed orders wait too long.

As for whether Xiaomi can become a member of the club of automotive giants in the future, an accurate answer cannot be given at present. However, the young market represents the future. Xiaomi, which has been recognized by young consumers, currently has a higher chance of becoming a giant than other new car - making forces.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Electric Vehicle Insights", author: Electric Vehicle Insights. It is published by 36Kr with permission.