Xiaomi Auto at 700,000 Deliveries: SkyNomad Reveals Where Chinese Premium EVs Are Heading

Xiaomi Auto launched its first car in early 2024. By August 2026 — roughly two and a half years on — it had delivered 700,000 vehicles. To put that in context: BYD took more than a decade to reach the same milestone from its EV start; even NIO, which is widely considered a fast mover, has yet to pass that figure. The 700,000 number comes from two independent sources checked against each other: a d1ev editorial (1 Aug 2026) and Gasgoo's August delivery digest. Monthly volume as of July 2026 is approximately 30,000 units — comparable to XPeng, and ahead of NIO's single-brand volumes. The parent, Xiaomi Corporation, is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and runs one of China's largest consumer-electronics operations. That backing matters: it makes an abrupt funding crisis considerably less plausible than for a standalone EV startup, and it provides the supply-chain relationships to scale quickly.

The SkyNomad is Xiaomi Auto's new extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) series, revealed in August 2026. The flagship model — the Pengcheng N90 Max — is a large, seven-seat family car measuring 5.28 metres in length. The powertrain is a petrol-electric hybrid in extended-range configuration: a 1.5-litre petrol engine (42% thermal efficiency) works as a generator alongside the electric drive, with a 60-litre fuel tank providing the long-distance fallback. On a full charge and a full tank, the combined range stated by Xiaomi is 1,705 km. To be absolutely clear: this is a combined petrol-plus-electric figure measured under Chinese test conditions — it is not a CLTC or WLTP electric range, and it cannot be compared directly with either standard. The electric-only CLTC range is 505 km. The SkyNomad series spans a price range of roughly CNY 200,000 to CNY 450,000 across its trims, with the N90 Max entry apparently around CNY 259,900. A top-specification variant was hinted at below CNY 500,000, though Xiaomi did not formally announce the price at the reveal event.

The SkyNomad N90 Max arrives with a technology specification that sits at the upper end of current Chinese EV hardware. ADAS hardware consists of dual LiDAR sensors paired with a 4D millimetre-wave radar — a combination that places it alongside the likes of Huawei ADS-equipped vehicles and above most export-market Chinese EVs sold in the UK today. The compute platform runs at 700 TOPS (tera-operations per second), which is substantially higher than the hardware in current UK-market models from BYD, MG or Leapmotor. For infotainment, Xiaomi has specified its third-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Mobile Platform — the same chip generation used in premium smartphones launched in 2024–2025. The battery pack stands at 76 kWh. On safety, Xiaomi states compliance with the 2027 Chinese national standard, which is relevant context: China is tightening EV safety rules, and compliance ahead of deadline is a positive signal. Battery underfloor protection is rated at 500 joules of impact absorption. None of these specs have been assessed for a UK variant — they are China-market hardware only.

Xiaomi Auto is not coming to the UK imminently. No right-hand-drive SkyNomad has been announced, and Xiaomi Auto's current stated footprint covers China's domestic market and a modest number of export destinations. That said, this intelligence is worth tracking for three reasons. First, the SkyNomad's technology specification — dual LiDAR, 700 TOPS, EREV architecture — sets the bar for where Chinese premium EVs will sit by 2026–2027. The models that do reach the UK in 2027 and 2028 will be competing with or drawing from this same generation of hardware. Second, Xiaomi's scale (700,000 cumulative units, 30,000/month by July 2026) means the company has the manufacturing depth to export if it chooses; the question is regulatory homologation, RHD engineering and dealer network — none of which have been signalled for Europe yet. Third, the EREV architecture is relevant context for UK buyers assessing the practicality of Chinese EVs: EREVs offer petrol-backed long-distance range alongside city electric driving — an architecture well-suited to the UK's incomplete rapid-charging network. The 1,705 km combined range cited by Xiaomi is a Chinese-conditions combined figure (petrol plus electric) and cannot be compared to WLTP; real-world WLTP electric range for a 76 kWh EREV of this size would be considerably lower and has not been assessed.