Xiaomi’s Beijing Auto Show Glamour Can’t Mask a 24% Stock Slide

Xiaomi unveils a 1,000-hp hypercar at Beijing Auto Show, but shares languish near a 52-week low as Q1 deliveries drop sharply and margin pressures mount from EV price wars and smartphone cost hikes.

The contrast could hardly be starker. On the exhibition floor in Beijing, Xiaomi is unveiling a 1,000-horsepower electric hypercar that can sprint to 100 km/h in roughly one second. On the trading floor, its shares are languishing at €3.42, just 24% off the year’s start and dangerously close to a 52-week trough. The disconnect between show-floor spectacle and market reality has rarely been this wide.

A Concept Car Steals the Spotlight

The Vision GT concept, built on a 900-volt architecture, is the headliner at the ongoing Beijing Auto Show. With over 1,000 kW of power, the two-seater is a pure engineering statement — but concrete production plans remain absent. Xiaomi is also showing its production lineup: the second-generation SU7 sedan, the YU7 SUV, and the performance-oriented SU7 Ultra. Industry watchers are scanning for clues on the rumored YU8 and YU9 models, which could mark Xiaomi’s entry into the extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) segment.

Yet the buzz around the concept car does little to address the core concern: can Xiaomi sell enough cars at a profit?

Delivery Numbers Temper the Hype

The first quarter of 2026 delivered a reality check. Xiaomi handed over roughly 79,000 vehicles — a modest year-on-year increase but a sharp drop from the 145,000-plus units shipped in the final quarter of 2025. The sequential decline has spooked investors who had priced in a smoother ramp-up.

Management is sticking to its full-year target of 550,000 deliveries. That implies a dramatic acceleration in the coming months. The second quarter will be the true test: if April-to-June numbers fall short, the annual goal may require a downward revision.

The Margin Squeeze Intensifies

Beyond volume, profitability is under siege. Vice President Lu Weibing recently flagged that purchase-tax incentives have been halved this year, forcing automakers to offer their own discounts to keep demand alive. That directly eats into margins.

Xiaomi’s core smartphone business is also feeling the heat. Higher chip costs have compressed margins in that segment to around 11%. The IoT division, meanwhile, has lost momentum following tighter government subsidy policies. The company is thus trying to fund its capital-intensive auto venture precisely when its traditional profit engines are sputtering.

Strong 2025 Results Offer Some Cushion

The financial foundation from last year remains solid. In 2025, Xiaomi grew revenue by 25% to roughly 457 billion yuan, with adjusted net profit rising at an even faster clip. That war chest provides some buffer for the price war now gripping China’s EV market.

SU7 Demand Is Real — But So Is the Stock’s Pain

On the demand side, the news is more encouraging. CEO Lei Jun reported on April 23 that 60,000 firm orders for the SU7 had been received, with 26,000 vehicles already delivered. The sedan is positioned as a premium rival to Tesla, and the early uptake suggests Xiaomi’s brand can stretch beyond smartphones.

Yet the stock tells a different story. At €3.42, Xiaomi’s shares are roughly 49% below their 52-week high of €6.69. The year-to-date decline of nearly a quarter reflects broader headwinds: trade tensions, weak sentiment toward Chinese tech names, and persistent volatility.

The Long Game

Xiaomi has set an audacious long-term target: to rank among the world’s top five automakers within 15 to 20 years. For a company that only just delivered its first production car, that ambition borders on hubris. The SU7’s strong order book is a promising start, but the real test lies ahead. The next quarterly report will reveal whether the delivery pace can sustain the annual target — and whether the margins can hold up in a market where every competitor is slashing prices.