Xiaomi came into this world promising that the price was a conspiracy. That the absurd margins of Samsung and Apple were arbitrary, that a decent cell phone could cost two hundred bucks and that Democratizing was, in itself, a form of gainr. It worked and grew. It became the third smartphone brand in the world with a 14% global share, not so far from Samsung and Apple. And now, at the MWC in Barcelona, he has set up a stand where there is no trace of that initial promise.
There is a Xiaomi 17 Ultra for 1,500 euros with the Leica seal. There is a SU7 Ultra that breaks records at the Nürburgring. and there is a concepts of hypercar electric car called Vision Gran Turismo designed to appear in the PlayStation video game alongside Ferrari, Porsche and Mercedes. The Xiaomi of the bargain has not died of success. He died, in part, out of necessity.
The numbers tell the story that the statements do not usually explain:
- The average selling price of their smartphones fell almost three percent in 2025weighed down by the weight of Redmi in international markets.
- In China, its natural market, closed the year in fourth positionlosing ground to Apple and a Huawei that has returned with force.
- With an R&D budget that exceeds four billion dollars annually and the pressure to sustain that spending, selling more cheap mobile phones is no longer a viable strategy…
- …so the move to premium is an Excel thing.
The photography with Leica and the SU7 Ultra we already knew them. What’s new in Barcelona is the Vision Gran Turismo, and it is true that it deserves some attention. Xiaomi is the first Chinese manufacturer to join Polyphony Digital’s Vision GT program, a club that for three decades has been the exclusive territory of large European and Japanese houses.
The concept itself (a hypercar electric, 900 volt platform, power that could be around 1,900 horsepower…) will never reach production. Xiaomi knows that and we all know it. But that’s not the question. The question is why a company that sells mobile phones, appliances and electric cars dedicates resources to designing a video game car and also creates its physical version.
The answer is that The Vision GT is not a product but a positioning statement executed in the only territory where Xiaomi still has no history to defend or expectations to manage: the one of pure fantasy. A place where a brand that Four years ago it didn’t even have a car division. can sit without raising an eyebrow at the same table as Porsche.
Some photos of stand from Xiaomi at the MWC explain well where the shots are going:
What is not seen because it is covered by people surrounding it is the Vision GT, Xiaomi’s biggest eye-catcher at this MWC. Image: Xataka.
What you see when you enter the security area thanks to a convenient press pass. Image: Xataka.
The queue to get on the SU7 Ultra is already a classic. Image: Xataka.
Cell phones continue to attract glances… but they are not even close to the ones that their cars awaken. Or his car and his concept car. Image: Xataka.
The move is very reminiscent of Hyundai when it launched Lexus, although with one difference: Hyundai had the discipline to separate the brands. Xiaomi is trying to ensure that the same logo that for years crowned 150 euro phones now supports an ecosystem that ranges from hypercar to the ultra-premium mobile passing through the connected home.
This identity clash remains unresolved. And at the MWC stand it looks great: the main protagonists are Leica, the SU7 Ultra and the Vision GT. Redmi and POCO surely have a big place in the hearts of the staff of the brand, but they do not appear on any display, they are something that the Xiaomi of 2026 does not want to boast about.
The bet is serious because the premium margins are much better. The vertical integration that Lei Jun pursues with its own chip, its own operating system, its own AI model, etc., It only makes economic sense if the devices that incorporate them sell at a high price.and the total ecosystem that Xiaomi is buildingfrom the pocket to the living room and from the living room to the garage, generates a blocking effect that the low price segment will never be able to offer.
The risk is also serious: luxury always works by accumulation of credibility, a unilateral declaration is not enough, and Xiaomi still carries the shadow of having been for a long time the brand you chose when you couldn’t afford anything else. Or when you could, but you preferred not to, and you clung to that comforting feeling of getting something as good as your neighbor while paying half as much.
Convincing that neighbor that you are now worth three times as much is one of the biggest marketing challenges in the tech industry right now.
Featured image | Xataka
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