Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Xiaomi‘s Beijing headquarters on Monday as the Chinese tech giant prepares to expand its offensive in the European country from smartphones to automobiles.
Xiaomi currently sells two models in China — the SU7 sedan and the YU7 SUV.
The company is preparing to unveil new products at the Beijing Auto Show later this month, an event that will mark the brand’s entry into hybrid powertrains after launching exclusively as a battery-electric manufacturer.
Sanzhez was hosted by Xiaomi‘s co-founder and CEO Lei Jun with the Spanish Prime Minister promoting the country’s “talent, reliability, and future opportunities.”
“I conveyed to him that Spain offers a competitive industrial and logistical ecosystem for high-level technological cooperation projects between Chinese and Spanish companies,” Sánchez wrote on X after the visit. “We have talent, reliability, and future opportunities.”
Photos published by Sánchez show him inside the Xiaomi YU7, the company’s fully electric SUV, as well as Lei Jun presenting a red SU7 sedan.
The stop was the first engagement on Sánchez’s three-day official visit to China — his fourth in four years, more visits than any other Western leader has made over the same period. He is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang during the trip.
Xiaomi is the most popular smartphone brand in Spain, with the country being its strongest European market by brand share.
EU Expansion
Xiaomi does not manufacture or officially sell vehicles in Spain.
The tech giant has confirmed it intends to begin official vehicle sales outside China in 2027, with Europe as the initial target market.
President William Lu first disclosed the timeline during an interview at MWC 2025 in Barcelona.
In September 2025, Xiaomi opened its first overseas EV facility — the Xiaomi EV Europe Research and Development and Design Center in Munich, Germany.
The center focuses on performance vehicle development, EV technology, design innovation, and European regulatory adaptation. It is headed by Rudolf Dittrich, a former BMW Motorrad manager.
Kai Langer, the former head of design at BMW i, was hired for the Munich operation in August 2025.
In late 2025, Xiaomi‘s international division established a dedicated overseas sales preparation team, recruiting for market research, project management, and EV after-sales positions.
Barcelona
Xiaomi has used Barcelona — home to the Mobile World Congress — as the primary European stage for its automotive ambitions in two consecutive years.
At MWC 2025, the company unveiled the SU7 Ultra, a 1,548-horsepower tri-motor sedan that received over 10,000 orders within two hours and subsequently set the Nürburgring Nordschleife production EV lap record with a time of 7:04.957 in June 2025.
At MWC 2026, Xiaomi returned to Barcelona to unveil the Vision Gran Turismo concept — a full-scale electric hypercar created in collaboration with PlayStation’s Gran Turismo franchise.
Xiaomi became the first Chinese automaker to participate in the programme, joining a roster that includes Ferrari, Porsche, and Bugatti.
What Sánchez Saw
Xiaomi currently sells two production models in China and is preparing to unveil new models at the Beijing Auto Show later this month.
The SU7 is a performance sedan competing with the Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan.
The YU7 is a premium SUV targeting the Tesla Model Y leadership in the Chinese market.
The company has delivered more than 500,000 vehicles since its first customer delivery in April 2024 and is targeting 550,000 units in 2026.
It became profitable in its automotive division and AI division in November 2025 — 18 months after entering the market.
Chinese media reported that Sánchez asked detailed questions about performance, battery range, and phone-car integration during Monday’s visit.
Diplomatic Context
Bloomberg reported last week that Spain and China plan to sign a “High Quality Investment Agreement” requiring Chinese investments in Spain to involve technology transfers to domestic companies, contracts for local suppliers, and job creation.
The visit comes as Trump threatened last month to cut trade with Spain after it denied landing rights to US forces for strikes against Iran.
Reuters described Sánchez’s trip as reflecting his “determination not to align himself with Trump.” Spain has been one of Europe’s most vocal proponents of treating China as a strategic partner rather than an adversary.
Bilateral trade exceeded $55 billion in 2025. China is Spain’s largest trading partner outside the European Union.
