Lei Jun has truly dethroned the Model 3. The sales volume of the Xiaomi SU7 has exceeded that of the Tesla Model 3 for the first time.

In the high - end sedan market in China, the undefeated myth of Model 3 has come to an end.

After being on the market for three years, Xiaomi SU7 has surpassed the annual sales of Tesla Model 3 in China for the first time, selling more than 50,000 additional vehicles.

Even outside the Chinese market, foreign media have noticed this development and referred to SU7 as the "Model 3 killer". Even American netizens are envious and hope that Xiaomi cars can be sold in the United States, saying they will place an order immediately.

No wonder Tesla has stepped up its efforts in China at the beginning of the year. It is offering seven - year low - interest loans and an 8,000 - yuan subsidy, clearly aiming to boost sales.

As is well known, Tesla's more popular model is Model Y -

So, will YU7 become the "Model Y killer"?

Xiaomi SU7's annual sales surpass Model 3 for the first time

In 2025, the competition in the automotive industry came to an end, and the China Passenger Car Association announced the year - end performance reports of various automakers.

According to the data from the China Passenger Car Association, in 2025, Xiaomi Auto delivered a total of 258,164 units of Xiaomi SU7, making it the best - selling luxury electric sedan in China.

The previous "benchmark", Tesla Model 3, remained popular in China in 2025, with an annual delivery volume of 200,361 units, a year - on - year increase of about 13%. However, its growth rate was outpaced by SU7.

In the Chinese market, this is the first time that Xiaomi SU7 has surpassed Model 3 in annual sales, with the delivery volume being approximately 29% higher.

However, in the eyes of the outside world, this result may not be surprising.

In fact, from its launch in 2024 to the end of 2025, within 21 months, SU7's monthly sales exceeded those of Model 3 in 13 months.

This development has also caught the attention of foreign media, and they have summarized the reasons for Xiaomi's surpassing:

First, in terms of pricing, the starting price of the standard - version SU7 without a generation change is 215,900 yuan, about 9% lower than Model 3's 235,500 yuan.

In terms of battery range, under the CLTC driving cycle, the standard - version SU7 has a range of 700 kilometers, while Model 3 has a range of 634 kilometers. The former is about 10% longer than the latter.

Next is the aspect of technology. The intelligent assisted - driving function of SU7 is free, and after the upgrade this year, lidar will be standard across all models.

Another crucial point is Xiaomi's unique advantage -

Xiaomi started with the mobile phone business and gradually expanded into fields such as home appliances. It has a large user base, so it can provide car owners with a more integrated ecosystem.

To summarize this competition in the words of foreign media Electrek:

Model 3 is a great car, but in the highly competitive Chinese market, "being great" is not enough. Automakers need to iterate faster, price more aggressively, and integrate more deeply into the consumer ecosystem. Xiaomi has achieved all three.

Moreover, although Xiaomi Auto has not yet entered the overseas market, its every move is not only followed by foreign media but also closely watched by foreign netizens.

The most common demand is that Xiaomi cars should be sold in the United States, and they will definitely buy one immediately.

Some people also believe that it is a good thing for SU7 to surpass Model 3 in sales. More intense competition will prompt Tesla to make more improvements.

However, for Tesla, even if Xiaomi Auto has not entered its home market, the current pressure is already significant.

In 2025, Tesla delivered 626,000 vehicles in China, a year - on - year decrease of 4.78%. Although its ace model, Model Y, remained the best - selling SUV in China in 2025, its sales also declined by about 11%.

Tesla's "undefeated myth" in China seems to be shaken by the surrounding domestic automakers.

Some netizens have even asked the thought - provoking question: Will Xiaomi YU7 become the "killer" of Model Y?

Tesla launches a counter - attack, and Chinese automakers follow suit

For Tesla, its automotive sales performance in 2025 was not very positive.

This is not only reflected in the Chinese market. In the other two major markets, North America and Europe, Tesla also experienced a decline in sales last year:

In the North American market, especially in the United States, Tesla's sales were affected by policies. Fortunately, the decline rate was slower than that of other automakers in the US.

Taking the data from the automotive research company Cox as an example, in Q4 2025, Tesla's market share in the US was 59%, a significant increase from 41% in the previous quarter.

However, in the European market, Tesla's sales have clearly stalled, and there has even been a halved decline in important markets such as Germany and the UK.

As China is the world's largest single market and Tesla's largest overseas factory is built in Shanghai, it is particularly crucial to hold on to this strategic Chinese market.

So, at the beginning of this year, the outside world has clearly felt that Tesla has "stepped up the pace" in China.

On January 6, Tesla China officially announced that customers who place an order for Model 3/Y/Y L before January 31 can enjoy the "seven - year low - interest" policy.

The down payment for Model 3/Y starts from 79,900 yuan, with a monthly payment starting from 1,918 yuan; the down payment for Model Y L starts from 99,900 yuan, with a monthly payment starting from 2,947 yuan.

What does this mean?

Without any optional features, taking the Model Y Rear - Wheel Drive as an example, the current price is 263,500 yuan. After a down payment of 79,900 yuan, the loan amount is 183,600 yuan. The total interest for a seven - year loan is about 6,492 yuan, equivalent to an annualized interest rate of 0.98%.

The total interest for a conventional three - year car loan in the industry is approximately 18,000 - 30,000 yuan, with an annualized interest rate in the range of 4% - 8%. That is to say, the interest of this seven - year plan is only 1/3 - 1/5 of that of a conventional three - year car loan.

Tesla has always been good at the "financial war". The previous "five - year zero - interest" policy successfully boosted Tesla's sales.

With the new low - interest policy, even compared with Tesla's five - year zero - interest plan, the cost of "early repayment" of the former is much lower, which may further boost Tesla's sales.

However, this time, domestic automakers were also prepared in advance. Within a month, many automakers quickly followed the seven - year low - interest policy.

Xiaomi was the first domestic brand to announce the new low - interest policy. During a live - stream on January 15, Lei Jun announced a seven - year low - interest policy for YU7. Customers who place an order before February 28 can start with a down payment of 49,900 yuan and a monthly payment starting from 2,593 yuan.

Subsequently, domestic brands such as Li Auto, XPeng, Voyah, Dongfeng eπ, and Geely Galaxy also joined the camp of the "seven - year low - interest" policy, basically covering all models.

Seeing such fierce competition at the beginning of the year, Tesla has recently come up with a new move:

Customers who place an order for the Rear - Wheel Drive, Long - Range Rear - Wheel Drive, and Long - Range All - Wheel Drive versions of Model 3 before February 28 can also get an 8,000 - yuan insurance subsidy, further increasing the incentive.

Moreover, Tesla may have more tricks up its sleeve. Some time ago, pictures of a budget - friendly version of Model Y briefly appeared on Tesla China's official website - without the through - type front light strip, and the rear diffused light group area was also simplified.

Although the pictures were later removed, according to insiders, Tesla will successively launch budget - friendly versions of Model 3 and Model Y in the domestic market.

With a lower entry threshold, it will be less of a burden for car owners who want to buy a Tesla. This may also be one of Tesla's ways to boost sales.

Recently, the budget - friendly version of Model 3 has been launched in the Asian market, and it is available for pre - order in Thailand, the Philippines, and South Korea.

It seems that the countdown for the budget - friendly models to enter the Chinese market may really be on.

One More Thing

While making frequent efforts in the Chinese market, Tesla has not slackened in its home market, the United States.

Many car owners have reported that their newly purchased 2026 Model Y is already equipped with the new HW4.5 assisted - driving hardware.

According to the hacker greentheonly, who has been closely following Tesla, he found that a three - chip design was introduced into Tesla's firmware long ago.

Therefore, HW4.5 is likely an upgrade from the dual - chip design of HW4 to a three - chip design, which can run larger and more complex inference models and improve computing power for larger neural networks.

Moreover, the vehicle's thinking mode and decision - verification mechanism will also change: in the previous dual - chip system, if the two computers made different judgments, the system would face a dilemma and trigger a takeover warning.

In the three - chip