China’s wild Xiaomi brand expands to Europe, paving the way for Aus

Smartphone-maker-turned-EV pioneer Xiaomi Auto has announced it will launch in Europe in 2027 as part of a rapid expansion plan that could see it land in Australia before the end of the decade.

Xiaomi has announced it will begin selling cars in Europe within the next two years, which is expected to pave the way for the brand's launch Down Under.

Best-known in Asia as the world’s second-largest smartphone producer, Xiaomi switched to building electric cars in 2023 but has quickly become synonymous with building some of the most advanced EVs on the planet and selling them for attractively low prices.

With just two cars in its line-up – the SU7 sports sedan and mid-size YU7 – it delivered more than 80,000 cars in China last quarter alone.

Announcing the European expansion in a call to investors earlier this week, company president William Lu said Xiaomi would be on sale within the region by 2027.

The brand is currently in the research and preparation phase of its European rollout but hasn’t revealed any more details on what models it will offer, nor when it will begin producing right-hand-drive models for the British market and, in turn, potentially trigger the brand’s arrival Down Under.

Reports suggest Xiaomi is struggling with huge demand for both its SU7 and YU7 in China, with the waiting list for the sedan now stretching to around 10 months.

The Tesla Model Y-rivalling YU7, meanwhile, is now the must-have electric SUV in China with the brand announcing it took more than 240,000 orders for its mid-sized SUV just 18 hours after its unveiling back in June.

Despite a bulging order book though, Xiaomi has already found itself under the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

There have been complaints over its models mimicking rivals’ styling, SU7 owners who had paid-for performance-boosting dual air ducts found they were purely decorative.

Quality issues saw complaints over warped front bumpers, and there was even backlash over a software update that allegedly limited the power output.

The most serious of all was involving a fatal crash at the end of March when a vehicle hit a barrier and caught fire, raising concerns over its autonomous driving aids, door lock mechanisms and battery safety, which triggered Chinese regulators to rush in new rulings relating to battery safety and autonomous driving.

Just when you thought Australia couldn't sustain another new brand, Xiaomi is rumoured to be on the way, but we think its strategy of delivering smart EVs with class-leading tech and performance at an attractive price could prove a winning formula Down Under.

Let’s just hope by the time it arrives in Australia the EV start-up will have fixed the quality issues and production bottlenecks the brand is currently suffering with.

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