Xiaomi to launch its new YU7 this week as a potential game-changing SUV
About one year after first catching wind that EV newcomer Xiaomi Automobile was working on an SUV we’d come to know as the YU7, the company is finally set to launch the new model in China. This will be a direct competitor to the Tesla Model Y and has the potential to reimagine the all-electric SUV market in China.
It’s pretty wild to think about the massive success (and growth) Xiaomi Automobile has had in four years since the Chinese smartphone developer announced it would also start building BEVs. Much of that early clout in the market has come from its flagship model, the SU7 sedan, which hit the market in 2024 and saw 200,000 customer deliveries in a lightning-fast 119 days.
Shortly after launching the SU7, Xiaomi shared that it was already developing a second model—an all-electric SUV to compete against the Tesla Model Y in China. By June 2024, we had our first spy images of the SUV, followed by news in December that it was called the Xiaomi YU7.
Other than some images (one of which you can peep below), Xiaomi’s details of the YU7 have remained light. Following the December 2024 naming announcement, some of the core details of the SUV became available via a regulatory filing in China.
That filing said the Xiaomi YU7 measures 4,999 mm in length, 1,996 mm in width, and 1,600 mm in height and has a wheelbase of 3,000 mm. The SUV weighs 2,405 kg (5,302 lbs) and can reach a top speed of 253 km/h (157 mph). The lone model in the filing featured front and rear motors with a peak power of 220 kW and 288 kW, respectively. A Lithium-ion ternary battery from CATL will power those motors, but its capacity was unknown at the time.
At that time, Xiaomi also said the YU7 would launch in June or July of 2025. According to a recent Weibo post from the young automaker, the new SUV will officially be unveiled this week.
Xiaomi YU7 will be unveiled in China on May 22
Per the post, Xiaomi intends to officially unveil its new YU7 SUV during a product launch event in Beijing on May 22. The event will mark a “new beginning for Xiaomi’s 15th anniversary.” In addition to the YU7 debut, Xiaomi will launch its first mobile system on a chip (SoC) called the “Xring O1,” the 15S Pro smartphone, and the 7 Ultra Tablet.
We hope to learn more about the Xiaomi YU7 during this event and see if the tech company can confirm some of its 2024 regulatory filing specs. Launching the YU7 earlier than initially targeted fits Xiaomi’s mode of operation, but it could also be a strategic move from an optics perspective.
The debut of an exciting new vehicle could offer a new and positive topic of conversation surrounding the Xiaomi Auto brand, as it has faced a significant amount of public backlash in China following a SU7 crash that killed three people in late March.
As a result, SU7 sales have slightly decreased, but the young automaker continues to deliver over 20,000 BEVs to new customers month after month. The YU7 should only bolster those numbers when deliveries begin. We’d imagine that will be soon following the May 22 unveiling, scheduled for 7 PM Beijing time. Stay tuned.
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Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.
Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers
The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.
Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:
The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”
As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.
Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.
Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:
Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.
Electrek’s Take
In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?
Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.
It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.
Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory
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The breakthrough EV batteries Toyota says will double driving range and cut charging times are facing another setback. The company is once again delaying plans for a new battery plant in Japan.
Why is Toyota delaying its EV battery plant this time?
Earlier this year, Toyota bought a 280,000-square-meter plot of land in Fukuoka, Japan, where it planned to build a plant to produce the more advanced EV batteries.
A location agreement was expected to be signed by April, but Toyota pushed back construction by several months, blaming slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
The agreement was expected to be finalized this Fall, but that will no longer be the case. According to Nikkei, Toyota is delaying the EV battery plant for the second time. Toyota will review and adjust plans over the next year.
Fukuoka governor, Seitaro Hattori, confirmed the news with reporters on Friday following a meeting with Toyota’s president, Koji Sato. Hattori also shut down claims that Toyota was planning to scrap the battery plant altogether.
Toyota again blamed slowing EV demand for the delay. The decision comes despite Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Advanced Engineering Development Center, confirming at the Japan Mobility Show just last week that it’s “sticking on the schedule” to introduce its first solid-state battery-powered EV by 2028.
Last month, Toyota said it aimed to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” after securing a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to mass-produce them. It’s also working with Japanese oil giant Idemitsu.
The company recently revealed a solid-state battery pack prototype that it claims can deliver 747 miles (1,200 km) range and 10-minute fast charging, but will we ever see it actually in production?
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has been making empty promises about EV batteries for almost a decade now. It initially planned to introduce solid-state EV batteries in 2020, then pushed it to 2023, then 2026, and now it’s saying it will be around 2028.
Mass production is likely closer to the end of the decade, if Toyota doesn’t delay it again. While it’s blaming the slowing demand, global EV sales are still on the rise. According to Rho Motion, global EV sales topped 2 million for the first time in a single month in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EV sales are up 26% compared to the same period in 2024.
Even with the US ending the $7,500 federal tax credit and other policies designed to promote electric vehicles, global adoption will continue building momentum over the next few years.
Is it a demand issue, or is Toyota just looking for another excuse? With rivals like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda advancing next-gen EV batteries, Toyota will only fall further behind if it continues delaying key projects.
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