- Xiaomi founder said that Xiaomi EV currently has no plans to enter the US market, and the YU7 seen in the US was likely purchased by a US peer or supplier.
- A Xiaomi YU7 Max was spotted earlier this month on US Interstate 5 bearing an Illinois license plate.
Lei Jun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi (HKG: 1810, OTCMKTS: XIACY), said the company currently has no plans to bring its electric vehicle (EV) business to the US, following a report earlier this month of a Xiaomi YU7 spotted driving on an American highway.
"We currently have no immediate plans to enter the US market. I suspect this YU7 was purchased by a US peer or supplier for benchmarking purposes," Lei wrote on Weibo.
His Weibo post included a screenshot of a Car Scoops report claiming a Xiaomi EV appeared to be undergoing testing in the US, potentially related to another EV's development.
The vehicle, a Xiaomi YU7 Max, was spotted on US Interstate 5 bearing an Illinois license plate.
Car Scoops speculated the car might belong to US EV maker Rivian, as Rivian vehicles are produced in Illinois and the license plate number 132 has previously appeared on Rivian test vehicles.
Rivian is preparing to launch its highly anticipated $45,000 R2 in June. To ensure a smooth market debut, it likely needs to benchmark against rival models to evaluate the R2's performance, the report noted.
On June 26, 2025, Xiaomi officially launched the YU7, its first electric SUV and the most direct competitor to Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)'s Model Y.
The YU7 delivered a record 39,089 units in December, bringing its 2025 total to 153,673 units, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
Built on an 800V high-voltage architecture, the Max variant boasts a CLTC range of 760 kilometers and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.23 seconds.
Earlier this month, Xiaomi filed for the YU7 GT pure-electric SUV, whose powertrain delivers a total output of 738 kW (990 horsepower) — exceeding the YU7 Max's 508 kW (681 horsepower).
Current US policies essentially block Chinese vehicles from entering the market.
On February 1, the Financial Times reported that Ford and Xiaomi were exploring a joint venture to produce EVs in the US. However, Xiaomi subsequently denied the report.
