China's electric vehicle market has entered a high-stakes phase, as Xiaomi and Huawei escalate their rivalry across pricing, product quality, retail footprint, and social media messaging. Their public sparring reflects growing concerns over market saturation and intensifying internal competition in the post-growth era of China's EV boom.
Xiaomi scales fast as Lei Jun faces mounting scrutiny
Xiaomi's debut EV, the SU7, launched in 2024 with a value-driven proposition of high performance at a mass-market price—an approach analysts believe is being executed at or near break-even margins.
Xiaomi Auto announced on May 31, 2025, that it had added 29 retail locations in May, bringing its store count to 298 across 82 cities. In June, it plans to launch 37 more stores across 10 new markets, including Baoji and Cangzhou. Its service network now covers 153 sites in 88 cities.
The rapid rollout reflects Xiaomi's aggressive "storefront blitz" strategy, aimed at boosting brand visibility and improving accessibility to accelerate sales growth.
On June 2, 2025, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun addressed criticism on social media, stating, "We always believe there is a chance for latecomers," alongside a graphic that read, "Latecomers are always ridiculed and doubted, but there's always a chance"—a direct response to public skepticism about Xiaomi's vehicle quality and delivery capabilities.
Lei also revealed that SU7 deliveries topped 28,000 units in May and that the YU7 model is set to enter mass production in July. In a now-deleted comment, he quoted Chinese novelist Mo Yan, "Slander is a form of admiration," highlighting the balancing act between defending the brand and maintaining public diplomacy.
At the 2025 Future Automobile Pioneers Conference on May 31, 2025, Huawei's Richard Yu aimed at competitors, saying that by Huawei's standards, "some automakers wouldn't be allowed to ship a single car." He criticized rivals for prioritizing cost-cutting over product quality.
Yu continued, "Some companies from other industries launch a single car, and it sells like crazy. Our product is better, but we can't even match a fraction of their sales, despite their weaker quality and autonomous driving." Though unnamed, his comments were widely seen as targeting Xiaomi, stirring fresh controversy within the EV sector.
Xiaomi, Huawei not yet in the top tier
May delivery data shows Zeekr leading with 46,538 units, followed by Leapmotor at 45,067 and Huawei-backed HIMA (a joint venture with Seres Group) at 44,454. Li Auto delivered 40,856 vehicles, while XPeng has exceeded 30,000 monthly units for seven consecutive months.
Xiaomi delivered just over 28,000 units in May, while Nio reported 23,231—both remaining outside the first-tier leaderboard.
Analysts say China's EV market is entering a hyper-competitive phase, with automakers accelerating product rollouts and enhancing after-sales services to win over consumers. Price wars and brand warfare are now the norm, but long-term winners will be those that balance product quality, service, and profitability.
BYD rebuffs 'Evergrande of EVs' claims
While Xiaomi and Huawei dominate headlines, BYD is facing scrutiny over its financial position.
Some have likened the EV giant to "the Evergrande of the auto world," referencing China's debt-ridden property developer.
On May 30, 2025, BYD's Li Yunfei rejected the comparison, noting the firm's 70% debt ratio is modest relative to traditional automakers, some of which carry liabilities nearing CNY1 trillion (US$139.1 billion).
He added that BYD's payment terms align with industry standards and that Chinese EV makers generally maintain healthier balance sheets than their global counterparts. As of March 2025, BYD held approximately US$21.12 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
With China's EV sector entering a "do-or-die" phase, the competition now hinges on capital strength, brand positioning, and supply chain execution. Whether through Xiaomi's market blitz or Huawei's verbal sparring, the EV race has evolved into a high-stakes battle of scale, cost, and endurance.
Article translated by Levi Li and edited by Jerry Chen
