Meet the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the luxury Chinese EV everyone’s talking about
Xiaomi’s first electric vehicle, the SU7, took the market by storm, securing nearly 250,000 orders in just nine months. Today, the company launched a new flagship variant with over 1,500 hp, starting at under $75,000. Meet the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.
Xiaomi launches new flagship SU7 Ultra EV variant
In less than a year, Xiaomi’s first EV has become one of the hottest sellers in China. The SU7 hit the market last March and in just nine months, the electric sedan secured nearly 250,000 locked-in orders.
During its product launch event on Thursday, Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, announced the company had delivered over 135,000 SU7s by the end of 2024.
The sleek electric sedan starts at 215,900 yuan, or just under $30,000. At the event, Xiaomi launched its new flagship “Ultra” SU7 variant.
Hitting the market at just 529,900 yuan ($73,000) on Thursday, the SU7 Ultra is actually much cheaper than expected.
Powered by three electric motors, packing up to 1,526 horsepower, the high-performance EV can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in just 1.98 seconds. After it went on pre-sale last October for 814,900 yuan ($112,000), the Ultra model went viral, securing 3,680 pre-orders in just 10 minutes.
That same month, an SU7 prototype claimed the title as the fastest four-door sedan at the famous Nurburgring race track in Germany.
At 5,115 mm long, 1,970 mm wide, and 1,465 mm tall, Xiaomi’s SU7 is about the size of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
The flagship variant features CATL’s Qilin 2.0 battery pack, which has a 93.7 kWh capacity and can provide a CLTC cruising range of up to 385 miles (620 km).
Lei announced on Weibo that the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra has already received over 6,900 orders. The company will begin deliveries in April and aim to deliver 10,000 models.
In 2025, Xiaomi expects to deliver around 300,000 vehicles. This would be a massive accomplishment, given that it started selling cars less than a year ago.
The SU7 wasn’t the only product to get a new “Ultra” edition. Xiaomi, one of China’s largest smartphone makers, launched the new Xiaomi 15 Ultra, starting at 6,499 yuan ($893).
Lei said buyers that place a deposit before March 31 will receive benefits worth up to 90,000 yuan ($12,400), including 15 pieces of carbon fiber (including the rear wing) and their choice of interior design. The offer includes Xiaomi’s full-scenario end-to-end intelligent driving system, free delivery, and more.
Electrek’s Take
For those that don’t remember, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra was the Chinese EV Ford’s CEO Jim Farley drove after shipping one from Shanghai to Chicago last year.
Farley called the electric car “fantastic” on the Fully Charged Podcast, and even said he “doesn’t want to give it up.”
According to Ford’s CEO, Xiaomi is an “industry juggernaut” and a brand “that’s much stronger than car companies.”One thing is for sure, Xiaomi will be a brand to keep an eye on as China’s electric car market expands into overseas territory.
Source: CarNewsChina, Xiaomi
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Electricity demand is surging in Texas, and solar, wind, and battery storage are meeting it.
According to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity demand across the Texas grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) hit record highs in the first nine months of 2025. ERCOT, which supplies power to about 90% of the state, saw demand jump 5% year-over-year to 372 terawatt hours (TWh) – a 23% increase since 2021. No other major US grid has grown faster over the past year.
Solar and wind keep ERCOT’s grid steady
The biggest growth story in Texas power generation is solar. Utility-scale solar plants produced 45 TWh from January through September, up 50% from 2024 and nearly four times what they generated in 2021 (11 TWh). Wind power also continued to climb, producing 87 TWh through September – a 4% increase from last year and 36% more than in 2021.
Together, wind and solar supplied 36% of ERCOT’s total electricity over those nine months. Solar, in particular, has transformed Texas’s daytime energy mix. From June to September, ERCOT solar farms generated an average of 24 gigawatts (GW) between noon and 1 pm – double the midday output from 2023. That growth has pushed down natural gas use at midday from 50% of the mix in 2023 to 37% this year.
Battery storage is filling in the gaps
Batteries charge during the day when wind and solar generation are the highest, and they produce electricity when generation from wind and solar slows down. ERCOT began reporting battery output separately in October 2024 in its hourly grid data, and it’s clear that batteries are now helping to smooth out evening peaks. This past summer, batteries supplied an average of 4 GW of power around 8 pm, right as solar production dropped off.
Natural gas is flatlining
Natural gas is still Texas’s dominant power source, but it isn’t growing like it used to. Between January and September, gas-fired plants generated 158 TWh of electricity, compared to 161 TWh in 2023. Gas comprised 43% of ERCOT’s generation mix during the first nine months of 2025, down from 47% in the first nine months of 2023 and 2024.
More demand growth ahead
The EIA expects Texas electricity demand to keep rising faster than any other grid in the US. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA projects ERCOT’s demand will climb another 14% in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 425 TWh. That means Texas will need even more solar, wind, and battery storage to keep up with its breakneck growth.
Read more: This $900 million solar farm in Texas is going 100% to data centers
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GM is recalling nearly 23,000 Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models due to a defect where the tire tread could fall off.
GM is recalling more Chevy Equinox EV models
In a letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), GM said it has decided to issue a safety recall for certain Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models from model years 2025 to 2026.
This time, it isn’t necessarily GM’s fault. The vehicles may be equipped with 21″ all-season tires that Continental Tire is recalling.
According to Continental, the tires were produced during the week of October 6, 2024, and may have a defect where the tire tread could partially or fully detach. The records show the defect is due to a nonconforming tread base rubber compound.
Owners of affected vehicles may notice unusual tread wear or bulging, vibration while driving, or tire noises. GM is unaware of any incidents related to the defect, but is issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution.
On September 18, 2025, GM inspected the assembly plant and confirmed there were no suspect tires in stock. The 21″ tires come standard on RS trims and are optional on LT1 and LT2 grades.
Although GM is recalling 22,914 Chevy Equinox EVs and Cadillac Optiqs, it estimates that only about 1% of them have the defect.
The recall includes:
- 2026 Cadillac Optiq: 214
- 2026 Chevy Equinox EV: 1,832
- 2025 Cadillac Optiq: 3,468
- 2025 Chevy Equinox EV: 17,400
GM dealers will check all four tires and replace them if needed, free of charge. Dealers were notified on October 16. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed out on December 1, 2025.
You can contact Chevrolet’s customer service number at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac’s at 1-800-333-4223. GM’s recall number is N252525030. Owners can also call the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit the nhtsa.gov website for more information.
The Chevy Equinox EV is now the third best-selling EV in the US, trailing only the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. Meanwhile, Cadillac’s entry-level Optiq SUV is the fifth-most-popular luxury EV. The recall is minor and only affects a small percentage of models, so it’s not expected to have a major impact.
If you want to test one of them for yourself, we can help you get started. Check out our links below to find available Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models near you.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s earnings madness, Rivian layoffs, Ford pausing F-150 Lightning, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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