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Just a week after launch, Xiaomi’s second EV, the YU7, priced at 253,500 yuan ($35,360) and nearly 4% cheaper than Tesla’s Model Y, racked up 240,000 orders in just 18 hours, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, Commercial Times highlights TSMC as a big winner, since Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and NVIDIA’s Drive AGX Thor—both used in the YU7—are made by the Taiwanese foundry giant.
According to Commercial Times, Xiaomi’s YU7 packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for its smart cockpit and NVIDIA’s Drive AGX Thor for assisted driving—both crafted using TSMC’s 4nm process.
Notably, Commercial Times also highlights TSMC’s push to advance its automotive-grade 3nm process (N3A), aiming for certification by year-end. Alongside this, TSMC is reportedly launching an Automotive Design Enablement Platform and the first version of its process design kit (PDK 1.0) to fuel the next wave of auto chips. Industry sources cited by the report say TSMC’s reliability in safety-critical areas will keep it the top choice for cutting-edge car semiconductors.
Since launching 3nm mass production in 2022, TSMC has expanded its lineup with enhanced variants like N3E and N3P for better power and performance, N3X for high-performance computing, and N3AE to kickstart automotive use of its cutting-edge silicon, as per the company.
It is worth noting that while still using chips from global giants, Chinese automakers like SAIC, Changan, Great Wall, BYD, Li Auto, and Geely are gearing up to roll out vehicles powered entirely by domestically made chips—some aiming for mass production as early as 2026, according to Nikkei.
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(Photo credit: Xiaomi)
