Xiaomi launches cheaper YU7 Standard at 233,500 yuan to chase Model Y

Xiaomi unveiled a new entry-level YU7 Standard on Thursday at 233,500 yuan (about $34,320), trimming 20,000 yuan off the previous base price. The trim drops to a 73.0 kWh LFP pack good for 643 km CLTC, a single 235 kW rear motor, a 5.9-second 0-100 km/h, and a 10-80% DC charge in 20 minutes. The old 96.3 kWh, 835 km variant is being rebadged as the YU7 Long Range. Lei Jun framed the launch as a direct shot at Tesla's Model Y.

The pricing math is aggressive: Tesla's entry Model Y starts at 263,500 yuan in China with a smaller 62.5 kWh pack and 593 km of CLTC range, so Xiaomi now undercuts it by 30,000 yuan while offering more battery and more range on paper. Context matters here. April YU7 deliveries slipped 27.16% to 9,876 as buyers waited out the upcoming YU7 GT, and the once-mythical 56-week YU7 queue had already collapsed to near same-day pickup earlier this month. With 232,000 cumulative YU7s out the door in ten months and the 990 hp GT halo car landing later tonight, a cheaper Standard variant plugs the demand hole at the bottom of the lineup just as the top end gets a fresh headline-grabber.

Our read: this is less about poaching Model Y intenders and more about defending YU7 production slots from the new SU7 sedan, which is sitting on 80,000-plus locked orders and 11-14 week waits. Trimming 23 kWh of LFP cells and 115 kg of curb weight is a margin play dressed up as a price war — Xiaomi keeps the YU7 line full while shifting cell allocation toward the higher-margin Long Range and GT trims. For shoppers, the 643 km Standard is the most car-per-yuan EV Xiaomi has ever shipped.