Xiaomi Races Forward with SUV Record and China Phone Launch, Yet Stock Remains in the Doldrums

Xiaomi's EV division achieves fastest SUV lap at Nürburgring with YU7 GT, but stock hovers near €3.05 as smartphone profits plunge and EV losses mount.

Xiaomi is living two realities. On the Nürburgring, its high-performance YU7 GT just clocked a jaw-dropping 7:22.755 minute lap — the fastest ever for an SUV. In the smartphone lab, the 17T series has finally landed in China, a market the T-line had long avoided. On the bourse, however, the stock is barely clinging to €3.00, hovering just above the 52-week low of €2.97. Since the start of the year, the shares have shed 33.1% of their value.

The EV division is the main engine of hope, but also a persistent drain. Xiaomi’s Munich research centre, led by former BMW M executive Rudolf Dittrich, is adapting vehicles for European highways and charging infrastructure. The first fruit is the YU7 GT, whose Nürburgring record was set this year. Yet the company plans a formal European launch only in the second half of 2027, starting with premium models before moving to mid-range variants.

Volume, however, is already building. The YU7 has racked up roughly 232,000 deliveries in the ten months since its market debut. In the first five months of 2026, total EV deliveries reached around 140,000 units. The management targets 550,000 for the full year. But the cost of that ambition is steep: the EV and AI innovation segment posted an operating loss of 3.1 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026.

The smartphone side is no less challenged. The 17T series — now available in China for the first time — brings batteries of 6,500 mAh for the base model and 7,000 mAh for the Pro, paired with Dimensity 8500 Ultra and 9500 chips, quad cameras with a 50-megapixel main sensor and 5x optical zoom, plus 100W wired charging. Yet the numbers behind the launch are sobering. First-quarter adjusted net profit collapsed 43.1% year-on-year, while smartphone shipments dropped 19% to 33.8 million units — the steepest decline among the top five manufacturers.

Part of the problem lies in the product mix. Analysts at Jefferies highlight that 62% of Xiaomi’s 2024 handset sales were priced below $200, leaving the company exposed to rising memory-chip costs. By bringing the 17T series to the home market, Xiaomi is trying to fortify the premium segment and lift margins. The timing, however, is awkward: the stock sits at €3.05 — a whisker above the year’s low — with the RSI at 37 points, still in oversold territory.

Management has rolled out a HK$20 billion share buyback programme, launched on 2 June and running for twelve months. That replaces an earlier authorisation. But the market remains unconvinced. The distance to the 200-day moving line is around 30%, a technical gap that signals deep bearishness.

Near-term catalysts could come from the 17T debut in China and new TV launches in India, both slated for mid-June. Yet for a sustained recovery, investors will want to see tangible progress on the EV front — namely, whether the production pace can be maintained and margins improved. The second-quarter numbers will be the first real test. The Nürburgring record is a powerful statement of engineering prowess, but on the trading floor, it has yet to shift the needle.