Xiaomi Builds Electric Car Before Apple And It Looks Like A McLaren 720S Sedan

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has introduced its first car called the SU7, and it looks quite familiar, particularly at the front.

Apple has been toying around with the idea of making a car for quite some time now, but we still have not seen it. Now, Xiaomi has beaten the California-based tech giant to the punch with what looks like a sedan version of the McLaren 720S.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) via CarNewsChina, the Xiaomi EV sedan spans 197 inches in length, 77 inches in width, and 57 inches in height, which is comparable to the Tesla Model S size-wise. However, based on the electric powertrain options, it's closer to the Tesla Model 3.

The Xiaomi SU7 is available in rear-wheel-drive (RWD) and all-wheel-drive (AWD) models. The former makes 295 horsepower using a battery pack from BYD, while the latter delivers 664 hp using a battery pack from CATL, the same supplier for Tesla EVs.

In the tech department, the SU7 is available with a LiDAR, which could be seen mounted behind the windshield. It could also be installed with a face recognition unlocking function based on a camera spotted on the B pillar. As a Xiaomi-branded model, the phone maker's HyperOS will power the Chinese EV's in-car system.

Design-wise, the front fascia reminds us a lot of supercars from McLaren. Excluding the face, we get a silhouette reminiscent of the Porsche Taycan. Intentional or not, Chinese automakers are infamous for having cheap copycats of renowned models. The EV also gets a set of five-spoke wheels, with options for 19 inches and 20 inches.

Apple already lost the top spot to Huawei in the smartphone market in China last month. And if Xiaomi's EV venture gains traction in its homeland, we could see more customers make the switch. The Apple EV project better get a move on as mass production of the Xiaomi SU7 will reportedly begin next month at the BAIC plant in Beijing.