Xiaomi sold more electric cars than Ford and GM last year

Xiaomi launched its first electric car in March 2024, but sold more electric vehicles than Ford and General Motors for the entire year. American manufacturers are experiencing serious difficulties in the Chinese market, where the popularity of electric cars is rapidly growing, and local players remain the sales leaders. This helped Xiaomi become the leader.

Xiaomi is best known for its smartphones and other consumer electronics, but it has decided to release its own electric car — the SU7 model was released in March, and by the end of 2024, the Chinese electronics giant has sold 136,854 cars. By comparison, Ford’s global sales of electric vehicles in 2024 amounted to more than 97,000 units, and GM sold just over 114,400 EVs. Xiaomi has achieved high sales figures despite the fact that the SU7 has only been sold in China all this time — on the other hand, the Chinese car market is roughly the size of the US and Europe combined. This means that Chinese automakers do not need to export their products to survive, and global car brands whose sales in the country are small are missing out on a huge opportunity.

Xiaomi and other Chinese automakers have been ramping up their EV offerings in recent years, leaving American brands behind, with Tesla the biggest loser. As China’s EV market has matured, Tesla has been unrivaled in the premium segment, while BYD and others have moved into more affordable models. The Xiaomi SU7 is part of a new generation of cars that outperform Tesla’s but offer a more modest price tag. Elon Musk’s company sold just 30,688 EVs in China in February, its lowest figure since July 2022.

Weak demand in China is not just a problem for Tesla. Ford, which lacks a competitive product lineup, has seen sales there decline in seven of the eight years for which data is available. Some argue that Detroit’s Big Three automakers — Ford, GM, and Chrysler (part of Stellantis) — should exit the Chinese market altogether to cut their losses.