They’ll be banned faster than you can memorize the spelling of Xiaomi. At least in the US, where we make sure the old inefficient companies stay afloat despite their incompetence.
So you think the entire world’s auto manufacturers outside of China are incompetent and inefficient? People always act like the only vehicles sold in the US are domestic brands when they don’t even make up a majority here.
Corrupted by the oil industry and colluding together would be a better term. Someone please stop China, they are destroying the “EVs are luxury vehicles only” gimmick.
Well I wouldn’t say they’re all incompetent but look at how glacial all the “traditional” car companies have become. These guys are innovating at a speed never seen before while your traditional car manufacturers are stumbling over themselves trying to keep up.
On the german side, just take a look at BMW and how long it took for them to come up with a competent electric platform. They just got their first car on a good platform (the new X3). Mercedes still doesn’t have a good EV, and neither does Audi. Their etron is outdated.
Moving to the Japanese brands. I know Toyota isn’t focused on EVs at all and their hybrid is top notch so they’re one of the better ones out there. But no one else is even close. Not in terms of value for money. Not in terms of tech.
The only ones that get close are Tesla because, like the Chinese, they’re running their car companies like tech companies and not car companies.
What innovations are lacking specifically? I dont know of any features unique to Chinese brands. It seems more like you think every company should only be selling EVs for dirt cheap prices, but that isn’t realistic becausw those aren’t real prices and EVs aren’t yet practical for everyone which is why they make up such a small percentage of sales here still (though this number climbs with each quarter).
Well, in Germany VW (the second largest automobile manufacturer in the world) now is laying off a significant portion of their employees, closing factories and even selling them off to US/Israeli weapons manufacturers. Their head also already signaled VW is being open to switch to weapons manufacturing. Pretty sure other German brands are in similar peril.
Traditional manufacturers are dead.
They chose to actively ignore EV technology. Despite 80-100 years of manufacturing , they got overtaken by China in just 15 years.
You mean Volks “we don’t even make an effort for our cars to obbey emission rules and instead we cheated” wagen is having trouble staying afloat?!
I wonder how such a high quality company which was not at all doing funny business and using political connections is having trouble competing with those who just offer better products at lower prices …
The thing is, if the American government wants to be protectionist against Chinese cars, IMHO they need to pass legally binding legislation to force US car manufacturers to meet or exceed what the Chinese cars are offering and then directly subsidize the cost of those vehicles to the consumer, freely, with no stipulations. The punishment for failure to meet and exceed those expectations should be bankruptcy through immediate removal of the protectionist mechanisms.
The US is too busy licking other corps boots. They do not have enough funds to do it for everyone.
They’d probably need to tax the rich a significant amount of money to do that.
They tried when Japanese cars became popular for being efficient, the US car companies preferred to pretty much abandon the rest of the world and keep the government money.
They’ve been banned lol, like for decades
Can we just fucking STOP doing SUVs please? And huge trucks. And all the rest of that oversized garbage.
But I like being able to see over everyone else
- everyone
At this point I’m planning to see under everyone else.
Most of these these new SUVs aren’t huge SUVs of the 90s - like Ford Explorer. They’re basically the new station wagon but barely larger than a sedan like a Camry.
A crossover is a station wagon but the entire thing is raised up for no reason. It’s funny how averse the public is to driving a minivan. I drove one as a rental for a week and it was snappy, convenient, comfortable, and could hold a ton of stuff or people.
Minivans’ case isn’t really helped here in Europe by the fact that they’re cheap econoboxes with 2 liter or smaller engines. The Chrysler minivan with its V6 is just about the only exception. And the Mercedes one, but that hasn’t been available in well over a decade. We don’t get the Sienna or the Odyssey for example.
I think people who have never driven one or feel uncomfortable getting one and gets one because they feel they’re getting more for their money shouldn’t be driving them at all.
I think people who want one should rent one that way they have practice and they have to be careful with the vehicle because it’s on loan but the one thing I noticed when just about everyone switched to mini-suv’s and full sized ones and trucks, that there’s more people who have never driven one in their life and it’s noticeable.
I just don’t want to be hit by someone who has no idea how to manage driving one because of their size and depth perception being thrown off other than that who gives a fuck what people drive. If someone wants to drop money on something stupidly oversized and uses a fuckload of gas, let em.
American need a husky fit vehicle.
No
Yes, I fear those SUVs but not because that one is cheap, for an SUV but because oversized SUVs kill people (at a much higher rate than regular cars, even those with comparable loading volume).
Damn, never though I’d say this, but I think China is gonna save capitalism from itself.
You’re welcome.
archive.today link :(
Sorry, what’s the problem?
If you can’t reach that resource, it’s your DNS provider being a limp-wristed dick. Change providers.
Thanks for the ad. I really needed it.
Not in the US. We have a captive market that keeps us from ever seeing one.
It’s not just brands that should fear it, but also people living in cities. Say no to SUVs, even if you “sometimes go to camping, once or twice a year” (yeah, that’s the justification for everyone buying them).
Yeah great, I’ll pass on the CCP/PLA owned automobile companies.
Thankfully in the US we won’t get the choice because they’re not allowed to sell here to protect our domestic producers from competition so we can just give them more money the next time they need to be bailed out.
I prefer domestic exploitation to the Chinese.
If the billionaires raping my life and my country are American, they are welcome. If they are Chinese, then fuck the CCP.
(do I need /s here?)
Western brands don’t care cause they just lobby to ban them from the west.
Given the quality of some of their cheaper cars, this is a probably a shitbox.
You mean “their” as in general to the whole Chinese car industry including the shitboxes sold by GM under the Buick brand? Or only Xiaomi cars?
Because Xiaomi exclusively sells luxury cars, their other “cheaper” model costs $35k, maybe you are confused for another brand?
Do you work for the company? Jebus.
Claps to some of the people here thinking Mainland China is “perfection”.
I’ve apparently read my limit of Wired articles this month.
What’s it say?
If there’s one thing that can unite the world in these AI-troubled times, it’s everyone’s love of SUVs. For decades, the SUV has been the savior of the car world. Accounting for nearly half of all new sales worldwide, this is by some margin the largest segment in the global auto industry.
Sedans? Forget it. Ford doesn’t even sell a traditional sedan in the US now. China still likes a sedan. About a third of all Chinese autos are in this form, compared with less than half that for the US. But Chinese carmakers know full well how much we love our chunky SUVs, so they are focusing their efforts to lure the Western world away from familiar marques.
Indeed, Xiaomi has just played its hand in this particular game, revealing the remaining details earlier this month in Beijing—including the all-important pricing—of its coming SkyNomad SUVs. Bentley and Range Rover may well have revealed their flagship electric SUVs, but both will be mightily worried about just how many scalps Xiaomi Auto’s SkyNomad SUVs will take from them. If they’re not, they should be. Sedan to SUV Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Car Car Interior Car Seat Chair and Furniture
The new Xiaomi Auto SkyNomad N70 is a five-seat, extended-range EV that has better technology than a Range Rover at half the price of a Velar. Courtesy of Xiaomi
Trucks and SUVs represent more than 80 percent of new vehicle sales in America these days. Marc McGrath, US CEO of the automotive manufacturer Schaeffler Group, tells WIRED that one of the main reasons the company is developing its own solid-state batteries is to properly electrify the power-hungry trucks and SUVs Americans so dearly love. No one wants another F-150 Lightning U-turn.
The shocking success of the Jaecoo 7 is a prime example of SUV supremacy. This Chinese-made ride has enjoyed a staggeringly meteoric rise in the UK, going from an unknown newcomer in 2025 to now being one of the country’s best-selling new cars. Nicknamed the “Temu Range Rover,” it comes in both gas and hybrid flavors, and the company liberally uses the word “luxury” in its marketing, yet the vehicle costs just £29,210 (a little over $39,000).
These 7s are becoming ubiquitous on UK roads. My local Nissan dealer has swiftly dumped the Japanese brand and is now an official Jaecoo dealer, offering not just the 7, but the Jaecoo 5 and 8. I can’t think of another auto brand that’s enjoyed such a rapid rise.
Other Chinese brands are playing the same tactic in Europe, such as XPeng and BYD, but the big one incoming is Xiaomi Auto, set to launch in Europe in 2027, despite only making its first EV in 2024. Astonishingly, its SU7 Ultra claimed the title of “World’s Fastest Sedan” the very same year.
Far from a Temu pretender, the SkyNomad is not only tech-laden, it’s also seemingly high-end, with seating that purports to be “more like an Italian sofa.” The SkyNomad N70 is a five-seater that, especially in its “Stealth Black Edition” guise, looks almost exactly like a Range Rover from the outside, and far more successfully than the Jaecoo. Image may contain Cushion Home Decor Floor and Window Courtesy of Xiaomi
The N90 Max Studio has a pop-up roof that lifts 100 mm to open a sleeping loft. Image may contain Computer Electronics Laptop Pc Accessories Glasses Adult Person Transportation and Vehicle Courtesy of Xiaomi
The SkyNomad floor rail system makes for a super-configurable interior.
The larger N90 is a seven-seater that also comes in a “Max Studio” camper version, complete with a pop-up roof. The second row can transform into a bed with one touch of a button—no disassembly, no mattress needed—just 30 seconds from upright seats to a flat, large bed.
The theme of reconfigurable interiors continues. A flat floor, courtesy of the Kunlun platform, comes with sliding rails built in from the front seats to the boot, meaning all (yes, all) the seat sections can move about. The front seats spin a full 180 degrees to face the second row; floor-mounted tables slot between the rows to make for “living-room-style" layouts; the center console can move forward or back at the press of a button; and rear legroom can max out at over 5 feet. In the N90 Max Studio, the pop-up roof lifts 100 mm to open a sleeping loft with 1.8 meters of headroom, along with heated flooring (!), a built-in projector, and a 30-inch projector screen.
An amazing optional extra for the SkyNomad is Xiaomi’s version of in-brand car-to-car communications. Essentially, it’s a walkie-talkie that runs on cellular network coverage rather than short-range radio, so it’s marketed as having “unlimited range” and looks very similar to tech Xiaomi already ships in its phones.
Just stop for a minute and compare what you’ve just read with the sorts of interior innovations Western brands deliver on flagship models these days. Power doors, multi-point massage seats, relaxation programs with scent sprays, and a central console that moves maybe 10 cm are the typical cutting-edge fare. The SkyNomad makes US and European efforts look, frankly, lazy—right when they desperately need to stop their decline and show they can compete. Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Car Car Interior and Car Seat Courtesy of Xiaomi
Despite the price, Xiaomi is offering an aggressively specced SUV. Image may contain Transportation Vehicle Car Aircraft Car Interior Cushion and Home Decor Courtesy of Xiaomi
Seat rows can move forward and back, allowing floor-mounted tables. Image may contain Chair Furniture Transportation Vehicle Cushion Home Decor Car and Car Interior Courtesy of Xiaomi
The front seats can swivel around 180 degrees to make meeting spaces. Image may contain Furniture Courtesy of Xiaomi
A low-power fridge continues to cool when the car is powered down.
There’s more. “Full scenario” voice control; customizable head-up display; lidar units, high-definition cameras, and Nvidia’s Thor-U chip for level 2-plus autonomous control. A low-voltage power system apparently keeps “sentry mode” drain to under 5 kilometers of range overnight, so the onboard fridge running on 0.72 kWh a day can offer up to 24-hour continuous cooling.
The extended-range plug-in hybrid powertrain combines a 1.5-liter turbocharged internal combustion generator with battery packs and dual electric motors. This ICE engine never drives the wheels, but the SUV can charge from 20 to 80 percent in as little as 18 minutes for a 300-plus-mile electric-only range, or 1,000-mile combined range. Yes, these stats use China’s far more forgiving CLTC cycle, but this converts to about 700 miles using stricter US EPA standards.
Now to the clincher: the price. The maxed-out N90 Max Studio with its camper roof clocks in at RMB 299,900, about $44,700. The entry-level N70 Pro five-seat, rear-wheel-drive model with its movable “Italian sofa” seats, lidar, 14-speaker sound system including subwoofer and headrest speakers, and prodigious range is just RMB 209,900, or just over $31,000—about the same as a 2026 Hyundai Tucson.
Earlier this month, I asked a Western luxury auto CEO what he thought about Xiaomi Auto. He laughed. “They make vacuums, don’t they?” he scoffed. I think he’ll rue the day he said that. It reminds me of when, in a 2011 Bloomberg interview, Musk laughed when asked if he saw BYD as a competitor. Musk isn’t laughing now. Make no mistake, Xiaomi is coming to clean up.
Im curious why the headline says $31k but the article says $39k
$39k is referring to the Jaecoo 7, isn’t it?
you’re a real one for that copy paste mate
Looks like Rolls-Royce Cullinan from China.
An SUV for that price… In sure Chinese sweatshop factory workers are paid fairly and work in safe conditions and get regular breaks, vacations, aock leave, etc… Right?
Because if not, you’d be buying products from slavery yet somehow I don’t see that argument very much
So, instead of Chinese robot slavery, buy from American or Mexican human slavery?
America has UAW, which is about a quarter of the reason American cars are so expensive. They’re paying their factory workers way too much.
Not denying sweatshops over there, but it’s highly likely these are mostly built by robots in empty buildings.
Yeah. Watched a factory tour and assembly for sany equipment. Excavators and such. There’s people involved. But the facilities are clean automated and far from sweat shop looking. They make damn good equipment. I used to think it’s junk. Then I had to fix a couple. Impressive stuff from those guys.
Auto factories are well known for providing above average working conditions and career paths for their workers in China (high skill, robots). This is one product you would want to buy to support worker rights in China which notoriously have almost no rights or representstion.
I’m not sure. There was a guy on Lemmy saying essentially that the “wages are actually pretty good in auto manufacturing, but of course you have to do 60+ hours a week for them to be good, not be lazy and do 40” from his own experience in China.
60+ hours is kinda the norm in China though
Show me a car without the Chinese components or the Chinese labor involved in its manufacture?
