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Xiaomi's recipe for a new EV: buy three Teslas and take them apart
It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. For Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, that flattery involves wrenches, screwdrivers, and a deep dive into the competition's nuts and bolts. The company's chief executive, Lei Jun, confirmed what many in the industry suspected: to build its new YU7 electric SUV, Xiaomi started by buying three of its biggest rivals, the Tesla Model Y, and systematically taking them apart.
Speaking to a large audience at the Beijing National Convention Center, Lei laid out the company's strategy with surprising openness. "We bought 3 Model Ys at the start of this year, disassembling the parts one by one, and studied every component, one at a time," he explained.
This was a meticulous engineering exercise designed to understand every decision Tesla's designers and engineers made, from the chassis construction to the software integration. The goal was to benchmark against what many consider the industry standard for electric SUVs before finalizing the design for Xiaomi's own YU7.
What's more surprising than the admission of a teardown was the CEO's tone. In an industry where executives often dismiss or criticize their rivals, Lei Jun was remarkably complimentary of Elon Musk's creation. With a side-by-side comparison of the YU7 and the Model Y displayed on a large screen behind him, Lei told the crowd that Tesla had built a truly impressive vehicle.
"I'm not criticizing the Model Y. The Model Y is a very, very outstanding car," he stated, adding, "If you don't choose YU7, you can consider Model Y." This kind of public praise for a direct competitor is a rare sight in the automotive world.
The practice is known as benchmarking or teardown analysis, and is far from unique to Xiaomi. Automakers and electronics companies buy competitors' products all the time to reverse-engineer their successes. It's a standard operating procedure for understanding material choices, manufacturing techniques, and cost-saving measures that aren't visible from the outside.
www.arenaev.com
It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. For Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, that flattery involves wrenches, screwdrivers, and a deep dive into the competition's nuts and bolts. The company's chief executive, Lei Jun, confirmed what many in the industry suspected: to build its new YU7 electric SUV, Xiaomi started by buying three of its biggest rivals, the Tesla Model Y, and systematically taking them apart.
Speaking to a large audience at the Beijing National Convention Center, Lei laid out the company's strategy with surprising openness. "We bought 3 Model Ys at the start of this year, disassembling the parts one by one, and studied every component, one at a time," he explained.
This was a meticulous engineering exercise designed to understand every decision Tesla's designers and engineers made, from the chassis construction to the software integration. The goal was to benchmark against what many consider the industry standard for electric SUVs before finalizing the design for Xiaomi's own YU7.
What's more surprising than the admission of a teardown was the CEO's tone. In an industry where executives often dismiss or criticize their rivals, Lei Jun was remarkably complimentary of Elon Musk's creation. With a side-by-side comparison of the YU7 and the Model Y displayed on a large screen behind him, Lei told the crowd that Tesla had built a truly impressive vehicle.
"I'm not criticizing the Model Y. The Model Y is a very, very outstanding car," he stated, adding, "If you don't choose YU7, you can consider Model Y." This kind of public praise for a direct competitor is a rare sight in the automotive world.
The practice is known as benchmarking or teardown analysis, and is far from unique to Xiaomi. Automakers and electronics companies buy competitors' products all the time to reverse-engineer their successes. It's a standard operating procedure for understanding material choices, manufacturing techniques, and cost-saving measures that aren't visible from the outside.
Xiaomi's recipe for a new EV: buy three Teslas and take them apart
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi admitted to purchasing and completely disassembling three Tesla Model Ys to learn how to build its own popular YU7 electric SUV.
www.arenaev.com
