Xiaomi signs its first 8 German dealer groups, targeting a 2027 European launch

Xiaomi signed its first eight German dealer groups at IFA 2026 in Berlin, with partners including Ernst Dello, Autohaus Dinnebier and Emil Frey Germany, some of them more than a century old, and company president Lu Weibing revealed the deal as the next step toward a 2027 European launch.

Lu said the dealers distilled Xiaomi into three words, technology, premium and ecosystem, seeing it as a tech company rather than just a phone or car brand, and the SU7 being China's best-selling sedan above 200,000 yuan (about $29,800) in 2025 did not hurt, nor did its phone to home to car ecosystem.

Europe as the first stop is deliberate, since Lu explained that the continent hosts the world's strongest automaker cluster in Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen with the highest market entry bar anywhere, so Xiaomi chose a hardest-first path, one it can afford because its brand awareness in Europe already tops 90 percent and it set up a Munich EV R&D center two years ago.

On the product side, the export-bound models will head to Sweden, Germany, Spain and Italy for validation at seven test sites including the Arjeplog winter proving ground and the Nürburgring, with tuning for Germany's unlimited autobahn speeds above 200 km/h (about 124 mph), towing needs and cross-border charging compatibility.

Xiaomi already opened its overseas website on August 26 and confirmed a 2027 entry into Europe, and unlike most Chinese automakers that export a single model, Xiaomi is landing its phones, smart home devices and cars as one ecosystem, a play no car brand has really tried, which turns China's push into Europe from a price fight into an ecosystem fight.