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Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi has launched a new electric SUV and debuted a self-designed smartphone chip, in a push to expand beyond its roots in budget devices.
The company’s CEO and founder Lei Jun introduced the YU7, Xiaomi’s first SUV, and the Xring O1, a 3-nanometer mobile chip meant to rival Apple and Qualcomm’s top-tier smartphone chips, at a livestreamed event in Beijing on Thursday.
The launch event, which also introduced other products like a tablet, came as Xiaomi marks its 15th anniversary and signals a reinvention of its image. The event also follows a highly publicized deadly car crash in eastern China late March, which cast a shadow over its electric vehicle (EV) ambitions.
Xiaomi’s multi-pronged expansion into autos and chips is also emblematic of Beijing’s larger ambition to break the country’s dependence on critical foreign technology.
The YU7 SUV, set to hit the market in July, will offer a driving range of up to 835 kilometers (518 miles) on a single charge. Its top model will be able to accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in just over three seconds – a performance benchmark that Lei says surpasses Tesla’s Model Y and Porsche’s comparable models. The standard models will come with advanced driving assistance software.
No pricing information or pre-order timeline was shared during the launch. Lei had said in a social media post earlier on Thursday that Xiaomi is holding off on pre-orders and pricing disclosures for now.
Xiaomi’s automobile business has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after an SU7 sedan, the company’s debut EV, was involved in a fatal highway accident in March that killed three people. The crash raised questions about Xiaomi’s marketing of its self-driving technology and led to a temporary slump in orders the following month.
Lei has also made semiconductors a strategic priority. He revealed that the company invested 13.5 billion yuan ($1.87 billion) to develop the Xring O1. Like Apple and Nvidia, Xiaomi only designs the chips and outsources the production of chips to the world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Lei claimed the Xring O1 chip beat the A18 Pro chip in Apple’s latest iPhones in various metrics, including running cooler compared to rivals during intensive gaming. The chip will debut in Xiaomi’s newly announced 15S Pro smartphone, which retails for 5,499 yuan ($764).
The achievement of designing three-nanometer chips puts Xiaomi ahead of another Chinese tech giant Huawei, as it struggles to make chips beyond seven nanometers due to American sanctions. Unlike Xiaomi, Huawei is banned from working with TSMC. (Smaller nanometers indicate more advanced and sophisticated manufacturing technology, making the chips more powerful and efficient.)