Zhou Yunjie, be careful of Lei Jun.

On the evening of August 19th, Xiaomi released its financial results for the second quarter and the first half of the year ending June 30, 2025. At the earnings conference call, Lu Weibing, President of Xiaomi Group, said, "In the first half of this year, the price war in the home appliance industry was extremely fierce. There are many established players in the industry, and they do take us very seriously. When they engage in competition, they don't hold back."

However, judging from the latest financial report, the one dealing heavy blows seems to be Xiaomi itself rather than the "established players" in the home appliance industry.

Overall, in the second quarter, Xiaomi Group's total revenue reached 116 billion RMB (the same below), a year-on-year increase of 30.5%. The adjusted net profit was 10.8 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 75.4%. Both indicators reached record highs.

Specifically, in each business segment, the revenue of the mobile phone and AIoT segment was 94.7 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%. The revenue of the automotive and AI innovation business segment was 21.3 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 233.9%.

As the most attention - grabbing business segment of Xiaomi currently, the two popular models of Xiaomi cars, SU7 and YU7, have been in short supply. In the second quarter, the revenue increased by 230.3% from 6.2 billion RMB in the same period last year to 20.6 billion RMB. The delivery volume increased from 27,307 units to 81,302 units, and the average selling price per vehicle rose from 228,644 RMB to 253,662 RMB.

The strong performance of the automotive business not only drove the growth of the entire Xiaomi Group but also masked the stagnation of Xiaomi's mobile phone business.

In the previous quarter, the revenue from Xiaomi's smartphones decreased by 2.1% year - on - year from 46.5 billion RMB in the same period last year to 45.5 billion RMB. The average selling price per unit also dropped from 1,103.5 RMB to 1,073.2 RMB. Only the shipment volume remained relatively stable, increasing from 42.2 million units to 42.4 million units.

However, the automotive business is not the only highlight of Xiaomi's "explosive" quarterly report.

In the second quarter, the revenue of Xiaomi's smart home appliances increased by 66.2% year - on - year, reaching a record high. Among them, the shipment volume of Xiaomi air conditioners exceeded 5.4 million units, a year - on - year increase of 60%. The shipment volume of refrigerators exceeded 790,000 units, a year - on - year increase of over 25%. The shipment volume of washing machines exceeded 600,000 units, a year - on - year increase of over 45%.

The significant increase in the sales volume of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines was the main growth driver for the mobile phone and AIoT segment to which Xiaomi's home appliances belong, and it is also another growth curve for Xiaomi Group besides the automotive business.

Before the release of this financial report, Xiaomi's home appliances had been surging for several consecutive quarters, which had made industry giants uneasy, and this was reflected in some minor matters. Regarding the online market share data of air conditioners in July from Aowei Cloud Network, Gree and Xiaomi had a heated dispute.

However, the company that feels the most threatened by Xiaomi may not be Midea or Gree, but Haier.

Haier has always been regarded as one of the three giants in the white - goods industry, standing shoulder to shoulder with Midea and Gree. However, in the air - conditioner category, where Haier is relatively weak, Xiaomi has quietly caught up.

According to data from Aowei Cloud Network, as early as July 2024, Xiaomi surpassed Haier with a 12% share in all channels, ranking among the top three. By July this year, Haier regained its lost ground, with its market share rising to 15%, while Xiaomi's share dropped back to 10%.

In addition, Xiaomi has established a considerable advantage in the online channel. In July this year, Xiaomi occupied 13.5% of the online air - conditioner market share, while Haier only had 7.26%. Even including its sub - brands, the share was less than 11%.

Of course, due to Xiaomi's low offline market share, Haier still outperforms Xiaomi in the overall air - conditioner market. However, the fact that Haier and Xiaomi have been competing closely over the past year reflects the strong momentum of the latter.

Xiaomi's layout in home appliances covers both "white goods" and "black goods". In addition to air conditioners, it also produces refrigerators and washing machines in the white - goods category, and mainly focuses on televisions in the black - goods category. Although its overall scale is far from that of the three giants in the white - goods industry and black - goods giants such as Hisense and TCL, the high growth rate in the second quarter still poses a challenge to traditional brands.

As is well - known, Xiaomi has always had a dream of integrating "cars, people, and homes". Since 2024, the hot sales of Xiaomi cars have promoted the continuous expansion of offline stores, providing more display spaces and sales channels for Xiaomi's home appliances. Coupled with the enhanced brand influence brought by car - making, Xiaomi's home appliances can no longer be underestimated.

Correspondingly, as Xiaomi enters the territory of home - appliance giants, it will inevitably collide with more competitors. After "taking on" NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto, Lei Jun and Xiaomi's next battle will require Zhou Yunjie and others to be vigilant.

A

In March this year, a photo of Zhou Yunjie, CEO of Haier, and Lei Jun "appearing together" went viral on the Internet and unexpectedly became a hot topic.

Zhou Yunjie mentioned this in his WeChat Moments, saying that some friends "congratulated me on being made popular by Mr. Lei". Subsequently, he and Haier tried to seize this wave of popularity by quickly opening accounts and conducting live - broadcasts on platforms such as Douyin, accumulating millions of fans across the network.

However, the interaction between executives at a distance does not affect the direct competition between the two companies.

Haier started with refrigerators and washing machines. To this day, the market share of these two businesses of Haier is very stable. In particular, its refrigerators are said to occupy 45% of the domestic market.

Among the "three major white - goods" of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines, the market demand for air conditioners is still the largest. According to data from Aowei Cloud Network, in 2024, the total domestic sales volume of air conditioners reached 96.52 million units, while the sales volumes of washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions were 42.97 million units, 40.19 million units, and 30.86 million units respectively, only about 1/2 to 1/3 of the total volume of air conditioners.

For this reason, Haier began to aggressively enter the air - conditioner market in the 1980s and has ranked among the top three in the industry. In contrast, Xiaomi did not start cooperating with Midea to produce air conditioners until 2015. Three years later, it launched its first Internet - enabled air conditioner. In the following years, it gradually completed its product line and began to compete with the three giants.

In the same month when Zhou Yunjie became popular thanks to Lei Jun, Lu Weibing said at the earnings conference call for the full - year 2024 financial report that last year, Xiaomi's air - conditioner shipments exceeded 6.8 million units, with a year - on - year growth rate of over 50%. The refrigerator shipments exceeded 2.7 million units, a year - on - year increase of over 30%. The washing - machine shipments exceeded 1.9 million units, with a year - on - year growth rate of over 45%.

Comparing with the just - released financial results for the second quarter of 2025, Xiaomi's single - quarter air - conditioner shipments this year are already equivalent to nearly 80% of last year's annual shipments. Of course, summer is the peak season for air - conditioner sales, and the single - quarter share will be higher than that of other quarters.

Compared with Xiaomi's rapid development, Haier's progress seems a bit slow.

According to Haier Smart Home's 2024 annual report, the revenue from the company's air - conditioner products in 2024 was approximately 49.1 billion RMB, a year - on - year increase of 7.4%. Among the other two core business segments, refrigerators contributed 83.2 billion RMB in revenue, and washing machines contributed 63 billion RMB, with year - on - year growth rates of 2% and 3% respectively, showing a significant decline compared with 2023.

In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi's home appliances achieved another high - double - digit percentage growth. Haier has not yet released its financial results. If its performance remains mediocre, Xiaomi will have an opportunity to get closer.

The take - off of Xiaomi's home appliances such as air conditioners is closely related to Xiaomi's automotive business.

Lei Jun has always been obsessed with the concept of "cars, people, and homes", trying to connect hardware in different scenarios through a software ecosystem. However, it was not until the launch of Xiaomi's SU7 last year that the key link in the "cars, people, and homes" concept was completed, making the whole story truly believable.

In the past year or so, the sales volume of Xiaomi cars has skyrocketed. In addition to taking the group to a new level, it has also made up for the shortcomings of Xiaomi's home appliances in terms of sales channels and brand trust.

On the one hand, in order to sell cars, Xiaomi Homes have mushroomed all over the place. Xiaomi expects that by the end of 2025, the number of its domestic offline retail stores will reach the target of 20,000 one year ahead of schedule. In addition to displaying the SU7 and YU7, these stores also provide valuable display spaces and experience scenarios for Xiaomi's air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines, making up for a key link in the consumption of home appliances.

On the other hand, car - making is the crown jewel of technology companies. A company that can produce good cars is usually regarded by consumers as having excellent R & D and manufacturing capabilities. In the early days of making home appliances, Xiaomi had to rely on the Mi Ecosystem or even large - scale OEMs. Now that it has entered the car - making field, the home appliances produced by itself have gained stronger consumer trust and greater premium space.

Lu Weibing previously proclaimed the goal of ranking among the top three in the air - conditioner industry in 2025 and becoming one of the two leading players in the industry by 2030. Now, Xiaomi is showing signs of achieving this.

In the first half of this year, there was a sign of a price war in the domestic home - appliance industry. Lu Weibing said that Xiaomi withstood the impact of this price war. "The intelligentization of traditional home appliances is a once - in - a - lifetime opportunity for Xiaomi and also its advantage."

According to Lu Weibing's disclosure, 2025 is also the first year for Xiaomi's home appliances to go global. In the first half of this year, Xiaomi's home - appliance business entered the Southeast Asian markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, as well as the European market. Next, Xiaomi will also enter the Latin American and African markets.

"Overseas, Xiaomi's home appliances do not adopt a low - price strategy. Instead, they are fully benchmarked against Japanese and Korean brands such as Daikin, Samsung, and LG to produce mid - to high - end products," Lu Weibing said.

B

In addition to home appliances, Xiaomi's automotive business continues to soar. In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi delivered 81,000 cars, generating revenue of 20.6 billion RMB.

The Xiaomi SU7 and YU7 have been on the market for some time, but even now, the waiting period for car pick - up is still about 8 months to 1 year. It is not difficult to see from the latest financial report that the long wait has not dampened the enthusiasm of fans.

The financial report shows that as of June 30, Xiaomi had opened 335 car sales stores in 92 cities in mainland China.

What is even more remarkable is that in the fierce price war in the domestic new - energy vehicle industry, the average selling price per Xiaomi car has increased instead of decreased.

According to the financial report, the average selling price per Xiaomi car in the previous quarter was 253,700 RMB, compared with 228,600 RMB in the same period last year. Currently, the starting price of the Xiaomi SU7 is 215,900 RMB, the YU7 is 253,500 RMB, and the SU7 Ultra is 529,900 RMB. The financial report points out that the increase in the average selling price per vehicle is due to the contribution of the SU7 Ultra.

At the earnings conference call on the evening of August 19th, Lu Weibing said that this is a very high average selling price. In his impression, the average selling price of BBA cars in the Chinese market is basically around 300,000 RMB, which means that Xiaomi cars have actually entered the high - end vehicle camp. In 2027, Xiaomi cars will officially enter the European market.

However, Xiaomi still lags behind Tesla in terms of premium ability. In the first half of this year, Tesla's average selling price per vehicle increased from 274,500 RMB in the same period last year to 293,900 RMB.

On the other hand, the profitability of Xiaomi's automotive business has been significantly enhanced.

The financial report shows that in the second quarter, the gross profit margin of Xiaomi's automotive and AI innovation business segment increased from 15.4% in the second quarter of 2024 to 26.4% in the second quarter of 2025, mainly due to the decrease in the cost of core components, the reduction of unit manufacturing cost, the delivery of the SU7 Ultra, and the increase in the gross profit margin of other related businesses.

Lu Weibing said that he is confident of achieving the annual delivery target of 350,000 Xiaomi cars. In the second quarter of this year, the operating loss of Xiaomi's automotive and AI innovation business segment was significantly narrowed to 300 million RMB. It is expected to achieve single - quarter profitability in the second half of the year.

Lu Weibing also said that from 2022 to the first half of 2025, Xiaomi's investment in innovation businesses such as cars exceeded 30 billion RMB. So, in terms of cumulative figures, the new business still has a large deficit.

In addition, Xiaomi does not participate in the car price war or the so - called