Xiaomi unveiled its second electric vehicle, the YU7 sport-utility vehicle, on 26 June. The battery-powered SUV starts at CNY253,500 (USD35,320) for the base model, with Pro and Pro Max versions priced at CNY279,900 and CNY329,900. Offering up to 835 kilometres of range, 690 horsepower and 0-to-100 km/h in 3.23 seconds, the YU7 is pitched directly against Tesla’s Model Y, yet comes in roughly 4 percent cheaper than the U.S. rival in China. Demand was immediate. Xiaomi logged more than 200,000 locked-in orders within three minutes of opening reservations and about 289,000 within the first hour—one of the fastest order books ever reported for a new car in China. The rush sent Xiaomi’s Hong Kong–listed shares up around 8 percent to a record high amid expectations that the newcomer could deepen the price war in the nation’s electric-SUV segment. The stampede has created a bottleneck. By 1 July the company told buyers they face waits of 38 to 60 weeks, triggering more than 400 complaints on a consumer watchdog site from customers who had paid CNY5,000 non-refundable deposits without seeing the delivery timeline in advance. Xiaomi said Chief Executive Lei Jun would address the concerns in an upcoming livestream while the firm accelerates output at its Beijing plant. Despite the backlog, Xiaomi began handing over the first YU7s in 58 Chinese cities on 6 July, with Lei Jun personally delivering several vehicles. The limited rollout underscores the production challenge posed by the record order intake, even as rivals—including Xpeng with its lower-priced G7—step up pressure in the world’s largest electric-vehicle market.