The Xiaomi YU7 has achieved explosive sales. The most panicked party isn't Tesla.
The Xiaomi YU7 has achieved astonishing sales, and all the new car - making forces want to get a share of the pie. They have launched a "cut - off Xiaomi" war. Perhaps the most panicked ones behind this are not Tesla, but the new car - making forces themselves.
01 The Xiaomi YU7 Sells Like Hotcakes, and New Car - Making Forces Launch the "Cut - off Xiaomi" War
The new energy vehicle industry in China has finally welcomed a moment of celebration.
In recent days, the automotive industry, the entire network, and the general public have been discussing the Xiaomi YU7 non - stop, with continuous hot searches and topics.
Since the evening of June 26th, after the release of Xiaomi's second car model, the Xiaomi YU7, it has achieved astonishing sales. The number of firm orders exceeded 200,000 in 3 minutes, 289,000 in 1 hour, and 240,000 locked orders in 18 hours.
Whether it is the exterior design of the Xiaomi YU7, its pricing range, or Lei Jun's wonderful speech at the Xiaomi YU7 launch event, the effect of the Xiaomi YU7's release far exceeded Lei Jun's and Xiaomi's expectations.
The astonishing number of firm orders for the Xiaomi YU7 not only refreshed the peak data of firm orders for new car releases in the Chinese automotive industry. Even in the global new energy vehicle industry, this data is record - breaking.
A senior person in the automotive industry told "Xinpinlue Finance" on the night of the Xiaomi YU7's launch, "It was expected that the Xiaomi YU7 would sell well, but it still far exceeded the market expectations."
With the Xiaomi YU7 becoming extremely popular, it is obvious that Xiaomi Auto is the main beneficiary in this celebration feast, but all the new car - making forces want to get a share of the benefits.
After the astonishing sales of the Xiaomi YU7, facing a delivery cycle of up to one year, many car manufacturers quickly launched a "cut - off" strategy.
According to Cailian Press, as of July 1st, NIO, Avita, and Zeekr have all introduced relevant policies for users who have pre - ordered models from multiple brands, including the Xiaomi YU7. If they switch to buy their own products, they can receive compensation for order cancellation.
For example, NIO and Avita offer full compensation in the form of "discounted car prices", while Zeekr rewards corresponding points.
According to the 21st Century Business Herald, currently, brands such as IM and Zhijie have also launched the "cut - off" strategy.
For example, a salesperson at a Zeekr store in Hubei told reporters that they can reimburse the deposit for the YU7. In Changsha, users who switch from the YU7 to IM can have their deposit reimbursed.
Obviously, other new car - making forces are targeting those who have placed orders for the Xiaomi YU7 but do not want to wait for a long time due to the long delivery cycle or those who are in urgent need of a car.
With the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7, the new car - making forces are taking the opportunity to conduct a hot - spot marketing and promotion campaign. They can not only ride on the wave of popularity but also increase their sales, killing two birds with one stone.
"Xinpinlue Finance" believes that in the face of the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7, the "cut - off" strategy launched by many new car - making forces can be more appropriately described as a "cut - off Xiaomi" war.
Obviously, the "cut - off Xiaomi" war launched by the new car - making forces will continue as the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 persists. It depends on who can attract more Xiaomi YU7 potential customers.
02 Behind the "Cut - off Xiaomi" War, the Most Panicked One Is Not Tesla
The popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 naturally involves competitors and benchmarks. At the Xiaomi YU7 launch event, Lei Jun compared the Xiaomi YU7 with the Tesla Model Y.
Many media outlets have also made various comparisons between the Xiaomi YU7 and the Tesla Model Y, putting forward views such as "surpassing" and "challenging". A foreign media even commented that Tesla has encountered its strongest competitor.
However, in the view of "Xinpinlue Finance", the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 will definitely take away some of Tesla's customers, but it will not significantly affect Tesla's sales.
The user groups of Tesla and Xiaomi overlap in many aspects, but there are also some differences in terms of age, region, occupation, and educational background.
For example, the users of Tesla and Xiaomi are mainly concentrated among the young. Xiaomi Auto users are mainly young people aged 20 to 28, while Tesla's customer base is more diverse and widespread.
The users of both Tesla and Xiaomi are concentrated in first - and second - tier cities, especially cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. There are also differences in the occupations and backgrounds of their main user groups. Tesla users include many engineers, scientists, and white - collar workers who have a strong interest in technology and innovation. Xiaomi's user group mainly consists of trendy young white - collar workers who have dual requirements for a sense of technology and brand premium.
With the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7, Tesla will surely feel a sense of crisis and pressure. However, although the customer groups of Tesla and Xiaomi Auto overlap, the main customer groups are significantly different, so Tesla is not the most panicked one.
A senior person in the automotive industry told "Xinpinlue Finance" that at this stage, the impact of the Xiaomi YU7 on Tesla is limited, but it will siphon off orders from other brands and models.
Therefore, with the astonishing sales and popularity of the Xiaomi YU7, the new car - making forces have launched the "cut - off Xiaomi" war, which directly reflects the complexity, social norms, and the underlying anxiety and pressure in the current new car - making forces circle.
Obviously, the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 has had a huge impact on the entire new car - making forces circle, both in terms of sales data and psychological and market expectations.
Last year, when Xiaomi's first car model, the SU7, was not an SUV, many new car - making competitors breathed a sigh of relief. Now, after the release of the Xiaomi YU7, it has made a stunning debut with astonishing sales, having a wider impact.
The popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 will have different degrees of impact on different competitors.
It will have a direct impact on XPeng's newly promoted model, the G7. Although He Xiaopeng has also placed an order for the YU7, the pressure on the XPeng G7 under the halo of the Xiaomi YU7 can be imagined.
The Xiaomi YU7 will also have a significant impact on Zeekr. For example, the Zeekr 7X, and even the Zeekr 001, which is currently performing poorly in sales and has lost its halo effect. Currently, Zeekr lacks a new hit model.
The popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 has little impact on the NIO brand, which is currently striving to increase sales, due to different positioning and customer groups. However, it will have a certain impact on its sub - brand, LeDao.
What is more worthy of attention is that the brand that may be most potentially affected by the popularity of the Xiaomi YU7 is Li Auto, which is currently experiencing a decline in sales and is fully shifting to the pure - electric SUV field.
According to media reports, Li Auto announced an organizational structure adjustment in an internal notice released on June 27th. In the second half of the year, Li Auto will launch two pure - electric SUVs, the i8 and the i6. After the failure of the Li MEGA to break into the high - end pure - electric MPV market last year, the new pure - electric models in the second half of this year cannot afford to fail or make mistakes.
It is reported that the Li i6 is positioned at a lower level, and its price range may overlap significantly with that of the Xiaomi YU7. The two may face direct competition.
In the short term, the Xiaomi YU7 will not have a significant impact on Lingpao Auto, which is currently the top new car - making force. However, in the long run, it will definitely have a certain impact.
The "cut - off Xiaomi" war launched by the new car - making forces is on the surface a marketing war, but it also reveals a certain amount of anxiety and pressure.
03 Forecast for the New Energy Vehicle Industry in the Second Half of 2025
Since 2025, the competition in the new energy vehicle industry has been intensifying. All the new car - making forces are striving to launch new models, manufacture cars, and increase sales.
The first half of the year has passed, and all the new car - making enterprises have released their sales results for June. Combining the sales summaries for the first half of this year, many new car - making enterprises have presented different report cards. Some are happy while others are sad.
According to statistics from Yicai Global, in the first half of this year, the cumulative delivery volume of Lingpao, Zeekr, and Li Auto exceeded 200,000. It is a bit of a pity that XPeng's sales did not reach 200,000. However, considering the annual sales target set at the beginning of the year, XPeng's cumulative delivery volume in the first half of the year has not only exceeded that of last year but also made it the only new car - making enterprise with a sales target completion rate of over 50% in the first half of the year.
Image source / Yicai Global
The annual sales target completion rates of five brands, Li Auto, Deepal, NIO, Voyah, and Avita, are less than 30%. It can be predicted that these car manufacturers will face great pressure to achieve their expected annual sales targets in the second half of the year.
Overall, in the new car - making forces track, the sales data also clearly shows that the leading new car - making forces that have firmly occupied the top positions are getting stronger, and the strong will only get stronger.
The time window for mid - tier and niche new car - making brands in the industry is getting shorter, and the future pressure will only increase.
Although the market had expected that the launch of the Xiaomi YU7 would be popular, no one expected it to be so popular. The astonishing sales data has shocked all the new car - making competitors. Everyone was looking forward to the launch of the YU7, but now that it has achieved astonishing sales, the pressure on everyone has increased.
It can be clearly predicted that the Xiaomi YU7 will remain popular for a long time in the second half of the year. As long as the YU7 remains popular, the pressure on the new car - making competitors will also increase. It is even possible that some new car - making enterprises will regard Xiaomi Auto as the next Tesla.
In the Chinese new energy vehicle industry, Tesla is still a competitor that cannot be ignored. In the past, Tesla mainly targeted first - and second - tier cities. Now, Tesla is accelerating its penetration into the Chinese market, promoting the sinking of its sales system. The brand power and attractiveness of Tesla cannot be underestimated.
Currently, there is a wave of new energy vehicles going to rural areas. Brands such as Tesla, NIO, and Avita have been included for the first time. Obviously, in the second half of 2025, the trend of new energy vehicles going to rural areas, especially the high - end new energy brands increasing their penetration into the sinking market, will be a highlight. A new round of fierce competition in the sinking new energy vehicle market will intensify.
In addition, the Chinese new car - making forces have temporarily breathed a sigh of relief. Tesla's plan to launch a low - cost model in the first half of this year has progressed slower than expected. However, if Tesla really launches a low - cost model in the future, all Chinese new car - making forces will have to pay attention to it.
The ultimate goal of the new car - making enterprises' crazy sales efforts is to make a profit. Currently, only one or two new car - making forces have achieved profitability.
Li Bin of NIO has given a clear profit - making schedule and hopes to fully achieve the business goals in the fourth quarter. XPeng Auto also expects to turn a profit in the fourth quarter.
New car - making enterprises that have not achieved profitability can only achieve their profit goals by selling more cars. After all, the market only believes in sales data.
Currently, the Chinese new energy vehicle industry has entered the elimination stage. As He Xiaopeng once said bluntly, from 2025 to 2027 is a three - year elimination period.
In the future, time will tell who will become stronger, who will fall behind, and who will disappear.
The cover image and illustrations in this article are all from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the copyright holders.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Xinpinlue Finance", written by Wu Wenwu, and published by 36Kr with authorization.