- Xiaomi presents its first extended range electric vehicle
- SkyNomad will be located separately from its EV-only company Xiaomi Auto
- The 1.5-liter engine is manufactured by Changan subsidiary Harbin Dongang.
Xiaomi is ready to enter the hotly contested luxury SUV sector with a brand new business it has dubbed SkyNomad.
Following the success of the SU7 and YU7, the former of which has outsold the Tesla Model 3 in the Chinese market, smartphone maker Xiaomi sees a gap in the market for its first extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), in which a gasoline engine acts as a generator to charge battery packs on the move.
While the powertrain is still in its infancy in Europe, with only the Leapmotor C10 REEV and Mazda MX-30 R-EV currently on sale in many markets, it has seen sales success in much of China.
Li Auto is the current market leader, with six models offering a combination of combustion engines and battery packs, while AITO, Deepal, Avatar and Leapmotor also offer similar solutions.
Unlike traditional plug-in hybrids, which use a gasoline engine to drive the wheels or charge the batteries, EREVs rely solely on an all-electric powertrain for propulsion, with the combustion engine acting as a generator to charge the batteries.
According to Car News China, Xiaomi’s SkyNomad brand will offer the N70 and N90, the latter as a three-row full-size SUV with swiveling front seats, a premium all-leather interior, and an N90 Max Camping Edition that adds a pop-up roof and built-in side awning for luxury camping trips.
SkyNomad also sells the idea of modularity, stating in its promotional material that the cabin can be transformed into a studio for one, a cafe for two, a meeting room for three or a play area for the whole family.
Under the skin, a 1.5-liter gasoline engine from Changan subsidiary Harbin Dongang sends power to a 76 kWh NMC ternary battery in the N90, while a pair of electric motors combine to deliver 310 kW (416 hp) of power.
Analysis: unnecessarily huge
Xiaomi’s decision to launch an EREV-focused brand, SkyNomad, is a clear opportunity to attack market leader Li Auto, which is experiencing a 74% year-on-year sales drop in the first four months of 2026, according to Electrek.
The introduction of EREV into Xiaomi’s range will no doubt help it boost sales in China, but it’s hard to overlook the fact that the N90 is absolutely huge. It measures more than five meters long and weighs 3,361 kg, which makes its 416 HP seem slightly less powerful.
Car News China says the N90 can travel around 230 miles before the batteries run out, at which point the 1.5-litre engine is called upon. Total range exceeds 1,500 km, or about 930 miles.
It’s also interesting that Xiaomi, a company that had great success with pure electric vehicles, is returning to fossil fuels.
All the PR coming out of China suggests that its public EV charging network is faster and more widespread than most other markets, which begs the question of why the market needs range extenders as big and heavy as this one in the first place.
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