Xiaomi entered the automotive market in 2024. Now the CEO revealed that they bought three Teslas and dismantled them. The aim was to draw conclusions about the technology and learn for their own products.
The Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi, known primarily for smartphones and smart home products, entered the automotive market in 2024 and presented its first electric car, marking the premiere of the Xiaomi SU7 SUV in China.
Now Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, revealed that they bought three electric cars from the competition and dismantled them to learn something from them. This was reported by the English-language magazine Businessinsider.com.
Xiaomi dismantles three cars from Tesla and directly compares its first electric car with it
What did the CEO of Xiaomi say? During his annual speech on Thursday, September 25, 2025, Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, stated that the company purchased three Tesla Model Y vehicles and took them apart for examination. He told a large audience at the Beijing National Convention Center:
We purchased three Model Y vehicles earlier this year, dismantled the parts individually, and examined each component separately.
Lei added that he considers Tesla’s Model Y to be a really good car. He also mentioned in the conversation:
If you do not choose the [Xiaomi] YU7, you might want to consider the Model Y.
He added that the Xiaomi team had long pondered how to best design the interior of the SUV. Lei stated that the final version of the YU7 design “definitely holds its own against the Model Y.”
Can you buy Xiaomi cars in Germany? No, Xiaomi’s new electric vehicle is currently not available for purchase in Germany. The Chinese manufacturer plans to offer its vehicles in Europe starting from 2027. Other Chinese manufacturers are already expanding significantly into Europe. Thus, the manufacturer BYD aims to conquer Europe with its cars soon and is putting considerable pressure on domestic manufacturers.
In contrast, Tesla has long been demanded to offer an affordable vehicle for the masses to regain new customers in the US and Europe.
China currently faces a problem with too many electric vehicles: The domestic market produces so many cars that new cars are now even being sold as used. Nevertheless, this does not change the fact that there are large overcapacities in China: China produces so many cars that new vehicles must now be sold as used.
