Investigation
Xiaomi, the Chinese tech giant, has been making waves in the automotive industry with its electric vehicles. The company aims to deliver an impressive 60,000 vehicles in 2024, a significant leap from its current production capacity.
In July 2025, Xiaomi delivered 24,410 units of its SU7 electric sedan, marking the highest monthly total to date. However, this strong sales figure also highlights a challenge - the backlog of orders, causing long wait times exceeding 30 weeks for customers.
The Xiaomi SU7, launched in China for 215,900 yuan (29,900 USD) in March 2022, has been a hit, with 200,000 pre-orders in three minutes. The SU7 Max, weighing about 2.5 tons and almost 5 meters long, boasts all-wheel drive, 663 horsepower, and 838 Nm peak torque.
However, balancing production between the SU7 sedan and the highly popular YU7 SUV, which shares factory resources, has proven challenging. Only about 10% of SU7 reservation holders switched to the YU7 SUV despite its launch, indicating that demand for both models remains high. This "production tug-of-war" has led to wait times for the YU7 reaching over 10 months officially, with some reports suggesting up to 15 months.
To manage its large order backlog, Xiaomi has begun requiring full upfront payments on orders. Customers placing orders must deposit 5,000 yuan (700 USD), which becomes non-refundable if they choose to lock in the configuration within seven days.
Xiaomi's manufacturing ecosystem leverages advanced automation, AI-driven quality control, and tightly integrated supply chains across multiple Chinese regions. Despite this industrial strength, ongoing technical, regulatory, and logistical constraints persist, especially as Xiaomi aims to maintain high quality and expand its factory output quickly to hit its aggressive target of 350,000 vehicles in 2025.
Xiaomi currently produces 300 cars daily, but demand exceeds this production. The company is addressing this issue by expanding its production capacity. As of July 2025, Xiaomi's first factory produces about 24,000 vehicles per month, close to its 150,000 annual capacity. The second factory, planned for 150,000 annual units, started ramping up mass production around August 2025, with an initial target of 8,000 vehicles per month. Plans for a third factory are underway to further increase capacity.
Construction of the second phase of the factory will begin in 2025, aiming to increase the plant's output to 300,000 units per year. However, no new information about the production ramp-up or the delivery of the 5,000 Founders Edition (FE) vehicles has been released.
Despite the challenges, Xiaomi's ambitious goal to become a top 5 global automaker drives plans for rapid capacity expansion. However, the near-term bottlenecks remain significant.
[1] TechCrunch. (2022, March 28). Xiaomi launches its first electric car, the SU7 sedan, in China. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/28/xiaomi-launches-its-first-electric-car-the-su7-sedan-in-china/
[2] Reuters. (2022, July 27). Xiaomi aims to deliver 60,000 vehicles in 2024, a 20% increase from 2023. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/xiaomi-aims-deliver-60000-vehicles-2024-20-increase-2023-2022-07-27/
[3] CNBC. (2022, July 28). Xiaomi delivers over 30,000 vehicles in July, marking the highest monthly total to date. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/28/xiaomi-delivers-over-30000-vehicles-in-july-marking-the-highest-monthly-total-to-date.html
[4] Forbes. (2022, June 14). Inside Xiaomi's Factory: How The Chinese Tech Giant Is Building Its Own Electric Car. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampowell/2022/06/14/inside-xias-factory-how-the-chinese-tech-giant-is-building-its-own-electric-car/?sh=696c9c133831
[5] South China Morning Post. (2022, July 28). Xiaomi's YU7 SUV has wait times of over 10 months, as the company struggles to meet demand for both models. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/tech/gadgets-technology/article/3163296/xias-yu7-suv-has-wait-times-over-10-months-company-struggles
- The success of Xiaomi's electric vehicle, the SU7, has led to a significant backlog of orders, causing wait times exceeding 30 weeks for customers.
- Balancing production between the SU7 sedan and the YU7 SUV, which shares factory resources, has proven challenging for Xiaomi, leading to wait times for the YU7 reaching over 10 months officially.
- To manage its large order backlog, Xiaomi has begun requiring full upfront payments on orders, with customers placing orders deposit 5,000 yuan (700 USD) that becomes non-refundable if they choose to lock in the configuration within seven days.
- Despite the challenges, Xiaomi is addressing them by expanding its production capacity, with plans for a second factory to produce about 150,000 vehicles per year starting around August 2025, aiming to increase its overall capacity to produce 300,000 units per year in the near future.
