A foreign visitor inspects a Xiaomi YU7 EV at the Xiaomi EV Hyperfactory showroom on December 10, 2025. Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

A Xiaomi SUV spotted recently on a California highway briefly stirred online speculation over whether the Chinese tech giant was preparing to enter the US auto market, as images of the vehicle bearing a local plate circulated on social media platforms.

The speculation was quickly addressed by Lei Jun, founder and chairman of Xiaomi, who said on Monday in a post on Chinese social media that the company currently has no plans to enter the US market. Lei said the vehicle, identified as the YU7 model, was likely purchased by a US peer or supplier as a reference vehicle for comparative analysis. 

The attention surrounding Xiaomi comes amid a complex global trade backdrop for Chinese NEV producers. In the US, tariff barriers and ongoing policy uncertainty continue to weigh on market access, even as rhetoric from some political figures has occasionally suggested openness toward Chinese-made vehicles, explaining why some high-quality Chinese manufacturers choose not to expand into certain overseas markets even during periods of strong growth, said Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In early January, the US administration at times signaled that it would "welcome" a Chinese automaker willing to build vehicles on US soil, according to Reuters.

"If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that's great, I love that," US President Donald Trump said during a speech in Detroit earlier this month, per Reuters, and he said "Let China come in."

"However, so far the US NEV market has seen no substantive moves that would boost consumer confidence or materially bolster confidence among Chinese electric vehicle makers, including measures to reduce barriers such as tariffs," said Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Notably, four US-based subsidiaries of Chinese automaker BYD Co - covering businesses such as car sales, commercial vehicle manufacturing, and battery supply - have filed a lawsuit against the US government in the US Court of International Trade, challenging a series of tariff executive orders implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), domestic media outlet Caijing Magazine reported. A source close to the matter on Sunday confirmed with the Global Times that the authenticity of the lawsuit filed by the BYD subsidiaries.

BYD's lawsuit comes as global companies have sued the US government over tariffs. Thousands of companies around the world have filed lawsuits challenging the US government's sweeping tariffs and sought refunds on duties paid, Reuters reported on January 9. 

Despite lingering market uncertainties and remaining barriers in some economies, the global expansion of Chinese electric vehicles has become a clear and established trend.

Data on January 27 released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association showed that BYD registered 187,657 new vehicles in Europe in 2025, up 268.6 percent year on year, as Chinese automakers attracted a growing number of European consumers with a broad product lineup and strong value for money, the Xinhua News Agency reported on January 28. 

Also, on September 26, 2025, Xiaomi made its first public showcase in Japan of its pure electric vehicle (EV), the SU7, and expressed interest in selling the model in the Japanese market in the future, according to Nikkei Asia.

"If political interference were absent, China's exports of high-quality advanced manufacturing products, including electric vehicles, to other countries — the US included — would in essence be a win-win choice," Gao told the Global Times on Tuesday. "On the one hand, there is genuine demand for Chinese-made products in these markets, and on the other, Chinese companies have the capacity to supply them, meaning supply and demand are fundamentally well matched."