Xiaomi has taken another concrete step towards becoming a global carmaker. The tech giant, often referred to as the ‘Chinese Apple’, has launched a dedicated international website and overseas social-media channels for Xiaomi Auto.
The site is explicitly stating that its cars are “officially coming to Europe in 2027”. More tellingly, the site already includes a portal for dealer and distribution inquiries.
No details yet
The move does not yet amount to a market launch. Xiaomi has announced no countries, prices, or a confirmed European line-up, and the website currently serves mainly as a showcase for the SU7, SU7 Ultra, YU7 GT, SkyNomad, and the company’s technology. But it is the clearest public sign yet that preparations for Europe have moved from strategy to commercial execution.
Xiaomi president Lu Weibing previously said overseas sales should start in the third or fourth quarter of 2027, with Europe as the first destination.
The company wants to enter developed markets and mid- to high-end segments before moving downmarket. According to the Financial Times, Germany is expected to be its first European car market, while Xiaomi has set itself the ambitious target of becoming one of Europe’s five leading premium brands by 2030.
‘My Xiaomi SU7 is fantastic’
That puts the company on a collision course not only with Tesla and Chinese rivals such as BYD, Xpeng and Zeekr, but increasingly with BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche.
That threat is already taken seriously in Detroit. Ford CEO Jim Farley famously had an SU7 flown from Shanghai to Chicago and drove it for six months.
He called the Xiaomi “fantastic” and admitted he “didn’t want to give it up”, while describing Xiaomi as an industry juggernaut whose consumer brand is stronger than those of traditional carmakers.
And there is more. Xiaomi already has an automotive R&D presence in Munich, right in BMW’s hometown, and has recruited experienced engineers and managers from European manufacturers.
SUVs rather than supercars
The biggest threat may not be the spectacular SU7 Ultra that has generated headlines and publicity at the Nürburgring. In Europe, the real battleground is likely to be the premium electric SUV segment.
The YU7 goes straight after the Tesla Model Y while aiming higher, at customers also considering cars such as the BMW iX3, Audi Q6 e-tron and Mercedes’ electric GLC.
Further down the line, Xiaomi can broaden its range. The recently unveiled SkyNomad family shows it is no longer satisfied with sports sedans and crossovers.
In China, the large SUV uses a range-extender drivetrain and targets the increasingly important premium family-car market. A European launch has not been confirmed, but the model illustrates how quickly Xiaomi is filling the traditional gaps in an automotive portfolio.
That speed is what makes Xiaomi different from many Chinese EV start-ups. It is entering the car market from a position of enormous financial and technological strength.
Xiaomi is the world’s third-largest smartphone maker and has hundreds of millions of active users, more than a billion connected devices and a huge retail ecosystem. Its “Human x Car x Home” strategy deliberately places the automobile alongside the smartphone and smart home.
The Chinese Apple?
Calling Xiaomi the “Chinese Apple” is therefore tempting, though incomplete. Like Apple, it tries to control hardware, software, services, and, increasingly, even chips. Xiaomi has invested heavily in its own Xring processors and is developing a D100 chip specifically for autonomous-driving applications.
The irony is obvious. Apple spent years and billions trying to enter the car industry before abandoning Project Titan, while Xiaomi announced its car program in 2021 and started deliveries only three years later.
Cars have also become much more important to Xiaomi itself than their young age suggests. In the second quarter of 2026, smart-EV revenue reached 23.9 billion yuan, roughly 22% of Xiaomi’s total 108.9 billion yuan quarterly turnover.
Xiaomi delivered 104,199 cars during the quarter. Its broader EV, AI, and new initiatives division accounted for 23% of group revenue, up from 18.3% a year earlier.
That matters because Xiaomi’s traditional smartphone business is mature and currently under pressure, while cars offer a major new growth engine. Automotive is no longer a prestige side project but is becoming one of the company’s pillars.
Europe will be the real test
Europe will nevertheless be a much harder test than China. Xiaomi still needs homologation, local financing and leasing, repair and parts networks, competitive residual values and, crucially, the confidence of fleet buyers. EU tariffs on Chinese-built EVs add another obstacle.
The new dealer and distributor portal is therefore arguably more important than the glossy cars on Xiaomi’s new website. Europe has known since last year that Xiaomi was coming in 2027.
What is changing now is that the company appears to be building the machinery needed to turn that promise into an actual European car business.
