Xiaomi YU7 electric SUV specs announced, outdoes Porsche Macan EV

Xiaomi, world’s leading phone maker, has released its second car, the YU7 SUV, after selling 258,000 in 12 months of its first extremely popular EVs, the SU7 sedan. 

The company’s founder and CEO, Lei Jun, has revealed the upcoming model’s key specs, which are clearly there to outrival competitors like the Porsche Macan EV.

Coming in three variants, the YU7 lineup includes the entry-level RWD model, the Pro AWD and the top-spec Max AWD, with performance approaching some supercars.

The RWD model has a rear-mounted single motor that produces 235 kW of power and 528 Nm of torque.

This propels the car from 0-100 km/h in just 5.88 seconds and can get to a top speed of 240 km/h.

The mid-range Pro AWD variant which bumps that up to 365 kW of power and 690 Nm of torque. The dual motor powertrain shaves the 0-100 km/h, coming to 4.27 seconds and maintains the top speed of 240 km/h.

The top-spec Max AWD variant has 508 kW and 866 Nm of torque, helping it’s sprint to 100 km/h in just 3.23 seconds, outperforming many supercars.

Top speed has also been increased to 253 km/h. For comparison, the previous generation of the Tesla Model Y Performance can get to 250 km/h.

Two battery configurations drive these powertrains. The first is in the RWD which has a capacity of 96.3 kWh battery that delivers up to 835 km on the CLTC cycle. That’s likely to be closer to 650 km on the WLTP cycle.

A bigger 101.7 kWh pack makes its way into the AWD versions of the model. Fast charging these packs can add up to 620 km of CLTC range in 12 minutes.

Pitched as an electric performance SUV, the almost 5-metre car is loaded with technology many traditional Automakers are not equipped with today.

First, there is the end-to-end screen that displays key driving information and acts as a physical heads-up display in Xiaomi’s implementation.

There’s also a large infotainment screen with the latest tech from a brand known for its mobile technologies and software with top-notch user interface (UI).

On the driver assistance front, Xiaomi is using NVIDIA Thor U chips and a 4D millimeter wave radar on top of all the high-resolution cameras to support smart driving.

In February, Jun personally drove the YU7 for 15 hours straight in the upcoming model, travelling 1,310 km on highways.

That was to test its autonomous driving technology as well as the range of the sleek SUV model with average speeds of 100 km/h in temperatures dropping to -10 Centigrade at certain sections of the test.

A lot has gone into developing this model, and tens of thousands of customers have been waiting for its launch.

Pricing of the new model is yet to be released but we expect it to start at under $A50,000 in China. More details on the pricing and expected production run is expected with the model officially going on sale in July this year.