A game-changing EV has been debuted which has a greater range than many top-selling petrol cars with a full tank – putting the concerns of many motorists who have been put off the switchover to bed
Drivers are switching to EVs en masse following the release of an impressive model with a 518-mile range that gets from naught to 60 mph in just 3.23 seconds and boasts a top speed of 157 mph.
According to Motorfinity, approximately 44 per cent of UK drivers are considering switching to electric vehicles (EVs), but many have long been put off by their limited range. For example, the original Nissan Leaf, launched in 2011, can only drive around 100 miles before needing to be put on charge — its range even lower in colder temperatures.
But Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is changing everything with its dramatic entry into the EV market, achieving a remarkable milestone with just its second ever model. Amazingly, the company received more than 200,000 pre-orders for its new YU7 electric SUV within just three minutes of its launch.
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Xiaomi later announced on social media that this number had climbed to more than 289,000 within the first hour. And after 72 hours, Xiaomi’s 351 retail stores across China reported up to 315,900 locked-in orders for the YU7. This surge in demand is a significant achievement for Xiaomi — outpacing the annual deliveries of many other EV manufacturers — as the company only started making EVs in 2024, when the SU7 sedan was launched.
The YU7, which is priced at roughly £25,790 (253,500 yuan), is positioned to compete directly with Tesla’s Model Y — and it’s almost four per cent cheaper than its American rival. Following the opening of pre-orders, Xiaomi’s shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange surged to an all-time high, rising by a staggering eight per cent in early trading, before closing up 3.6 percent.
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The YU7 may only be Xiaomi’s second vehicle, but it has already demonstrated the company’s ability to disrupt China’s highly competitive EV market. BYD currently leads China’s new energy vehicle market with a 29 per cent share and sales — just shy of one million cars from January to April. In contrast, Tesla holds just under five per cent of the market, while Xiaomi has quickly captured a 3.5 per cent share.
Xiaomi’s shares have risen by more than 70 per cent so far this year, making it one of the top-performing companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange with a value of around £139 billion. The rapid growth of China’s EV industry on the whole is also evident, with production of new energy vehicles — including EVs and hybrids — increasing by more than 46 per cent in the first four months of the year.
Meanwhile, sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars have declined by six percent, highlighting a dramatic shift toward domestic EV manufacturers. Foreign brands, once dominant in China, now hold just 31 per cent of the market across both EVs and traditional fuel-powered cars, underscoring the rise of domestic companies like Xiaomi.
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