A Xiaomi YU7 Max showed up on Illinois’ Interstate 5 recently and it’s a pretty unexpected sight, as this model is impossible to buy in the US. Photos of the vehicle in motion have begun popping up on Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) , the Chinese social media platform where it was first published, where individuals were quick to point out the Illinois manufacturer license plate it was displaying, plate number 132. That number’s turned up before on vehicles confirmed to be Rivian test cars.
Xiaomi’s YU7 Max is one of the electric crossovers that people in China just can’t get enough of, as the company launched it last year as their second model after the SU7 sedan and buyers snapped up hundreds of thousands of orders within hours of its release. This thing packs some serious punch with dual motors cranking out a combined 681 horsepower, a 101.7kWh battery from CATL and claims of up to 472 miles of range under the CLTC testing standard. It can travel from 0 to 62mph in 3.23 seconds, and the rapid charging is a big game-changer, since you can add a chunk of mileage in just minutes.
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What’s really interesting that this specific model was driving down an American freeway with plates that are normally only used by manufacturers or their contractors. Those plates allow corporations to test vehicles without having to deal with conventional registration, and plate number 132 is one we’ve seen on past Rivian prototypes, which immediately sparked speculation about who could own this item. Rivian has openly discussed looking at some of these Chinese electric vehicles to see how they are pushing the limits of electric vehicle technology.
A Rivian PR person confirmed that it’s not much of a secret that they like to look at what other companies are doing around the world when they’re developing their own products. “Its standard practice across the industry to benchmark and study vehicles from elsewhere as part of the development process”, their statement said, without actually commenting on this specific sighting. The company is preparing to debut the R2, a more cheaper variant geared at outdoor enthusiasts. That one will have an 800-volt design, which differs slightly from the R2’s 400-volt configuration.
Rivian doesn’t have to worry too much about the YU7 Max making a splash in the US market, as import rules keep it off the radar for the time being, but things get more interesting in Europe, where the R2 is also heading, which means it’ll be competing with the YU7 Max, even if they’re targeting slightly different types of drivers. This observation demonstrates how closely US engineers monitor what is happening in foreign markets and how they apply what they learn to improve their own products.
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