Report: Xiaomi Working On A Next Model And Its An SUV

Xiaomi’s SU7 sedan had a very successful launch in China, but it looks like the company isn’t resting on its laurels and is already working on the next model. According to a new report from China, citing unnamed sources, Xiaomi’s second EV will be an SUV.

That in itself is hardly surprising—SUVs have taken over the world in recent years. What is more surprising is that the report goes on to claim that this SUV will arrive by the end of this year. That’s a dramatically fast release pace, but of course, it’s something Xiaomi is used to from its smartphone business.

Still, we’d advise you to take this with a pinch of salt, since it does seem a bit too fast for the car world, especially for a company that literally just launched its first model yesterday.

Then again, Xiaomi kind of does need to release an SUV sooner rather than later, since it’s a very desired category. Most of its upstart Chinese competitors have had SUVs as their first models—Nio, Li Auto, and XPeng come to mind. Even now, Nio and XPeng have a lot more SUVs on their rosters than other types, and Li Auto has only made SUVs so far.

Perhaps that’s exactly why Xiaomi chose to first launch a sedan—to surprise people by not going the tried-and-tested route. But it will have to take that route at some point, so it may as well be what’s coming next.

• Read More: Xiaomi SU7 Sedan Pricing Unveiled And It Starts At Less Than €30,000